Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Raised to $66.00 at Bank of America

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $63.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and cut their target price for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $62.58.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $54.48 on Monday. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $70.60. The company has a market capitalization of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.