Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective reduced by KeyCorp from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $54.72 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 68.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 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.