Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

XEL has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $54.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.89. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $69.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 298,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,448,000 after acquiring an additional 7,679 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 115,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 37,131 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 930.5% during the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 45,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 41,462 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 70,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after buying an additional 28,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,665,677,000 after buying an additional 8,644,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.