Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Lowered to $69.00 at Barclays

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $71.00 to $69.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of XEL opened at $66.98 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.86. The firm has a market cap of $38.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.