Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.55

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of 0.5475 per share on Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th.

Xcel Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Xcel Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 57.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $3.82 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 57.3%.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $66.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

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.