Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Raised to $59.00 at Evercore ISI

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI from $54.00 to $59.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on XEL. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their target price for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $62.58.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $53.96 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $70.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.07.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a boost 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 currently 68.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 29.1% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 812 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 20.1% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 70,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after buying an additional 198 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.