KeyCorp Increases Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $69.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective raised by KeyCorp from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

XEL has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a hold rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $64.40 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $65.64. The company has a market capitalization of $35.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,372,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,427,000 after acquiring an additional 20,068 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,245,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 3,424.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 16,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 16,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.