Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Barclays from $87.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.93% from the stock’s current price.

XEL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, New Street Research set a $91.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $79.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $67.02 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.80.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.91. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 491.3% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 21,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 17,810 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,357,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,116,000 after purchasing an additional 150,768 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 226.4% in the fourth quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 42,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 29,376 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 175.0% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 29,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 18,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 38.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 277,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,410,000 after purchasing an additional 77,202 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xcel Energy

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.