Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Given New $57.00 Price Target at Barclays

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $53.73 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $70.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,665,677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,644,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,521,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559,321 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 216.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,627,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,510 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 184.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,451,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,861,000 after purchasing an additional 942,097 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 247.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,284,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,511,000 after purchasing an additional 915,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.