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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $63.08.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $71.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 23,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 19.8% in the first quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $5,504,000. Epiq Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth $125,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.