Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.040-4.160 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.120. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Argus raised Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Mizuho set a $86.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.40.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $76.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.46. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $83.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.18.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 13.46%.The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.040-4.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.51%.

Key Xcel Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 profit rose ~22% as higher electricity demand from data centers (AI-related load) helped margins and offset some cost pressure; this demand thesis supports longer-term revenue growth. Xcel Energy’s quarterly profit rises on AI-driven power demand — Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.96 matched consensus and was up year-over-year; full-year results show ongoing earnings improvement tied to infrastructure recoveries. (Management also hosted a call and provided slides for more color.) Xcel Energy 2025 Year End Earnings Report — BusinessWire
• Neutral Sentiment: Management held the scheduled earnings call and published a transcript/slide deck — useful for investors wanting management commentary on capital spending, rate cases and demand trends. Xcel Energy Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript — Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue missed expectations ($3.56B reported vs. ~$3.77B expected) and Zacks flagged rising operating and financing costs year-over-year — a sign margins could be pressured if costs persist. Xcel Energy Q4 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates, Expenses Rise — Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance was set at $4.04–$4.16, which sits near but slightly under some consensus estimates — investors may view this as a modest caution on near-term growth relative to expectations. Xcel Energy matches Q4 earnings forecasts and maintains 2026 outlook — MSN

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 17.0% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $231,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.