Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $72.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $70.00.

XEL has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $63.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,114,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,559,956. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $68.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company's stock worth $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company's stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company's stock worth $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.