Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $71.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.95% from the company’s previous close.

XEL has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $67.68 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.75.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.