Analysts Set Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target at $88.44

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.4375.

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a favorable view — XEL recently received an average “Buy” rating from analysts, which supports investor confidence. Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Storm-response readiness highlighted — Xcel says crews are staged and ready to respond to outages from the winter storm, which reduces operational risk and limits potential outage duration. Workers ready to respond to outages during winter storm, Xcel Energy says
• Positive Sentiment: Planned logistics/maintenance underway — Xcel is moving equipment this weekend (with some traffic impacts), indicating proactive grid work to manage storm impacts. Xcel Energy moving equipment this weekend with impacts to traffic on I-25 near exit 243
• Neutral Sentiment: Safety outreach — Xcel and the American Red Cross published severe‑weather safety tips for customers; this is reputationally positive but not material to near‑term financials. Xcel Energy, American Red Cross offer tips to stay safe during severe weather
• Neutral Sentiment: Market performance context — commentary that XEL is outperforming the Nasdaq provides sentiment context but doesn’t change fundamentals. Is Xcel Energy stock outperforming the Nasdaq?
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental/operational risk — Xcel confirmed mineral oil leaked into the Mississippi River near the Monticello nuclear plant. Even if described as a “small amount,” the incident raises potential cleanup, regulatory and reputational costs. Xcel Energy confirms mineral oil leaked into Mississippi River near Monticello nuclear plant
• Negative Sentiment: Planned/preventive power shutoffs — Weather alerts indicate likely shutoffs that could affect tens of thousands of customers (reports cite ~43,000 at risk in Colorado), increasing short‑term customer disruption and outage-management costs. Xcel Energy: Power shutoff ‘likely’ Saturday in Boulder, Jefferson counties
• Negative Sentiment: Wider storm impacts in the Upper Midwest — Xcel warns of outages in Wisconsin and recent wind events left 20k+ Minnesota customers without power, signaling elevated storm-related operational costs across service territories. Xcel Energy warns of outages in Wisconsin amid forecasted snowstorm

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $81.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The company has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 13.76%.The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.30%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.