Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on XEL. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.90.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.21 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 31.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,827,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109,190 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,609,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,353 shares during the last quarter. 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.