<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report)</span> was upgraded by equities research analysts at BTIG Research to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.</p><ul><li>3 Utilities Plays You Can Lean on During Volatility</li></ul><p>A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley  set a $86.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an &#34;overweight&#34; rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings  reaffirmed a &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a &#34;buy&#34; rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned  a Buy rating and two have issued  a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Buy&#34; and an average price target of $86.23.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Report on XEL</b></p><h2>Xcel Energy Price Performance</h2><ul><li>Powering Your Portfolio: The Utility Sector's Electrifying Surge</li></ul><p>Shares of XEL opened at $80.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $83.01. The stock has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.90. </p><p>Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.  Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that  Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy</h2><ul><li>Are defensive sectors ready to outshine growth in 2024?</li></ul><p>Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of  Xcel Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 74,100 shares of the company's stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter.  CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in  Xcel Energy by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter.  Code Waechter LLC increased its position in  Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the company's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter.  Hennion &amp; Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in  Xcel Energy by 64.6% during the third quarter. Hennion &amp; Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,967 shares of the company's stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 13,728 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Gries Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of  Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,657 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own  78.38% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Xcel Energy Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Xcel Energy</li><li>What is Put Option Volume?</li><li>Archer’s Recent String of Victories Signals a New Phase of Growth</li><li>Why Understanding Call Option Volume is Essential to Successful Options Trading</li><li>3 Key Stocks Boosting Buybacks Amid Improving Fundamentals</li><li>The Top 3 Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold</li><li>The Best AI for Picking Stocks, Ranked by Performance</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9WEVM?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9WEVM"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Xcel Energy Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Xcel Energy, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Xcel Energy wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Xcel Energy currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>BTIG Research has upgraded Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to a "strong-buy" rating. Other analysts have also provided positive ratings, with Morgan Stanley setting a target price of $86.00 and KeyCorp raising theirs from $79.00 to $85.00. Currently, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.23. The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, exceeding estimates, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Institutional investors hold 78.38% of the company's stock.</p>

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Raised to Strong-Buy at BTIG Research