Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.50-3.60 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.57. Xcel Energy also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.500-3.600 EPS.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $1.05 on Friday, reaching $53.96. The stock had a trading volume of 6,451,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,954,739. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.77 and a 200 day moving average of $58.07. The stock has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $70.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Xcel Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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 given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $62.58.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.