Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

XEL has been the subject of several other research reports. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.65.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $68.72 and a fifty-two week high of $84.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $280,187,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,211,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,936,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,044,000 after acquiring an additional 255,884 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after acquiring an additional 491,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $503,543,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based energy company that provides electricity and natural gas through regulated utility operations. Its businesses generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity, as well as distribute natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its operating companies, Xcel Energy serves customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The company’s operations include a diverse generation portfolio featuring wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other energy resources.