Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.00.

Several analysts recently commented on XEL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

XEL opened at $70.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.37. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 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.