Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Research Coverage Started at HSBC

HSBC began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $89.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.21.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $78.05 on Thursday. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $68.72 and a 1-year high of $84.23. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,890,136,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,896,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,145,176,000 after buying an additional 1,770,356 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after buying an additional 491,937 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $891,688,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,871,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,780,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,089 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its operations include the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, as well as the distribution and sale of natural gas.

The company serves customers across Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin through operating companies including Northern States Power, Public Service Company of Colorado, Southwestern Public Service Company, and NSP-Wisconsin.