Evercore ISI Increases Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $77.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target boosted by analysts at Evercore ISI from $74.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.10% from the stock’s current price.

XEL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.82.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $69.31. 477,852 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,814,848. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.10.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.