Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

XEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $53.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.97. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $70.11. The company has a market capitalization of $29.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.