Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Given New $78.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $78.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.88% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $69.10. The stock had a trading volume of 847,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,298,699. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.21 and a 200-day moving average of $67.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

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Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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.