Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $76.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $71.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on XEL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of XEL stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $66.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,860,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,169,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.61 and its 200 day moving average is $58.25. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $68.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after buying an additional 121,118 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,372,000 after purchasing an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 20,068 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,245,000 after purchasing an additional 91,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,790 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.