Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.67% from the company’s previous close.

XEL has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.31.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.52. The stock had a trading volume of 623,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,171,910. 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 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $71.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.63.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,170,000 after purchasing an additional 67,820 shares during the period. 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.