KeyCorp Lowers Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $65.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target reduced by KeyCorp from $68.00 to $65.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on XEL. Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $54.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $30.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $71.32.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.548 per share. 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 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 68.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. 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.