Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to "Buy"

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $76.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $71.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 13.96% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $66.69. 6,808,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,169,125. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $63.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.16. The company has a market cap of $37.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $68.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,955,000 after buying an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,264,000 after acquiring an additional 74,690 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock worth $111,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,046,000 after purchasing an additional 174,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.