Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.040-4.160 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.120. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $86.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.40.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,225,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,336,967. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.46. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 13.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.040-4.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.51%.

Xcel Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 profit rose ~22% as higher electricity demand from data centers (AI customers) offset some cost pressure, supporting stronger operating volumes and near‑term cash flow. Xcel Energy’s quarterly profit rises on AI-driven power demand
• Positive Sentiment: Full‑year results show ongoing earnings improvement (ongoing EPS of $3.80 vs $3.50 prior year) and increased recovery of infrastructure investments, which supports regulated earnings growth over time. Xcel Energy 2025 Year End Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance at $4.040–$4.160, a range that roughly brackets analyst expectations (consensus ~$4.12), so guidance is broadly in line but leaves little upside visibility. Press Release / FY2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call transcript provides management color on cost drivers, rate recovery and capital plan execution — useful for assessing how recurring the margin pressures are. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 revenue missed estimates ($3.56B reported vs. ~$3.77B consensus), indicating top‑line weakness relative to expectations and increasing scrutiny on sales mix and recoveries. MarketBeat Q4 Results Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Operating and financing costs rose year‑over‑year, pressuring margins despite higher volumes; several outlets flagged an EPS beat vs last year but either met or slightly missed near‑term Street estimates, which can dampen investor sentiment. Xcel Energy Q4 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates, Expenses Rise

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,029 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.