Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $80.07 and last traded at $80.05, with a volume of 5508692 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. UBS Group set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets set a $84.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $47.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.48 and its 200-day moving average is $70.74.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.The company had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 130,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,880,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 161,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,079,000 after buying an additional 17,477 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at about $374,000. 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.