UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.11 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.08. The company has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.