Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.57 Per Share

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.57 per share on Sunday, April 20th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

Xcel Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Xcel Energy has a payout ratio of 52.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $4.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.9%.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $69.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.94. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

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.