Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.31.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $71.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.93. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $71.95.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Pitcairn Co. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $145,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 520,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,973,000 after acquiring an additional 50,128 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 18.2% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 24,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,806 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.