Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded to "Overweight" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $80.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $69.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.62.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.49. 2,574,404 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,100,681. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.19. The company has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company's stock worth $163,840,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock worth $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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.