Zacks Research Raises Earnings Estimates for Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Xcel Energy in a research note issued on Monday, April 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.96 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.95. The consensus estimate for Xcel Energy's current full-year earnings is $3.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Xcel Energy's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.95 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.12 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.05 EPS.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.13. 2,784,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,589,283. The company has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $69.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.76. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock worth $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

About Xcel Energy

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.