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Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) came out with its first-quarter results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what industry forecasters think of the company following this report. Revenues of US$3.9b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at US$0.84, missing estimates by 8.7%. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
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Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Xcel Energy's twelve analysts is for revenues of US$15.2b in 2025. This would reflect a notable 11% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to swell 14% to US$3.81. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$15.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.83 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
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It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$75.54. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Xcel Energy at US$83.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$62.10. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Xcel Energy is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Xcel Energy's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 15% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 4.4% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 4.9% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Xcel Energy is expected to grow much faster than its industry.