Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) is a regulated utility company that generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity and natural gas. With a market cap of $39.3 billion, the company serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers across several U.S. states. It is scheduled to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings for 2025 before the market opens on Thursday, Apr. 24.
Prior to this event, analysts project this utility company to report a profit of $0.96 per share, up 9.1% from $0.88 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has missed Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while exceeding on another occasion. Its earnings of $0.81 per share in the previous quarter fell short of the consensus estimates by 6.9%.
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For the full year, analysts expect XEL to report EPS of $3.81, up 8.9% from $3.50 in fiscal 2024. Its EPS is expected to further grow 8.4% year over year to $4.13 in fiscal 2026.
XEL has soared 27.3% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 2.1% gain, and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLU) 16.3% rise over the same time frame.
On Feb. 6, XEL fell 1.2% following its weaker-than-expected Q4 earnings release. The company reported revenue of $3.1 billion, down 9.4% year-over-year, primarily due to lower sales in its electric and natural gas segments. The top-line figure also missed the consensus estimates by 16.1%. On the positive side, lower operating expenses and a higher income tax benefit helped boost net profit by 9.5% from the year-ago quarter to $0.81 per share. However, it still came in 6.9% below analysts’ expectations, contributing to the negative market reaction. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 EPS guidance of $3.75 to $3.85.
Wall Street analysts are highly optimistic about XEL’s stock, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. Among 15 analysts covering the stock, 11 recommend "Strong Buy," and four suggest “Hold.” The average price target for Xcel is $75.93, which indicates an 11% potential upside from the current levels.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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