Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Announces Earnings Results

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy updated its FY24 guidance to $3.50-3.60 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 3.500-3.600 EPS.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded down $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.96. 6,451,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,418,778. The stock has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.10. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $70.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 68.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.58.

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.