Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price raised by Barclays from $67.00 to $71.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

XEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $72.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.34.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is 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.