StockNews.com Downgrades Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to Sell

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

XEL opened at $55.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $70.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average is $58.10.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 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.