StockNews.com Lowers Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to Sell

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

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet cut shares of Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays raised shares of Xcel Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $54.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.53 billion, a P/E 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.1% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 189,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,172,000 after buying an additional 2,682 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.8% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 43,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,282,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the first quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 12,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth $400,000. 78.38% of the stock is 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.