Xcel Energy Inc. XEL recorded first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 57 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 11.8%. Also, the bottom line was 21.3% lower than the year-ago quarter.
The year-over-year increase in earnings was due to improvement in electric and natural gas margins, thanks to favorable weather compared to last year.
GAAP earnings in the quarter were 57 cents compared with 47 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.
Total Revenues
Xcel Energy’s first-quarter revenues of $2,951 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,956 million by 0.2%. Revenues were marginally higher than the prior-year quarter’s figure of $2,946 million.
Xcel Energy Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Xcel Energy Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Xcel Energy Inc. Quote
Segment Results
Electric: Revenues decreased to $2,270 million from $2,299 million in the last reported quarter.
Natural Gas: Quarterly revenues improved 5.8% to $662 million from a year ago.
Other: The segment recorded revenues of $19 million in the quarter, down 9.5% from the year-ago quarter.
Quarterly Highlights
Total operating expenses increased 0.7% year over year to $2,471 million. Costs increased primarily due to higher electric and fuel purchase power expenses.
Operating income in the reported quarter was down 2.4% from the prior-year quarter to $480 million.
Looking Ahead
Xcel Energy expects its 2018 operating earnings to be in the range of $2.37-$2.47 per share.
The company expects to deliver long-term earnings growth within 5-6% from the 2017 base of $2.30 per share.
Zacks Rank
Xcel Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Peer Releases
NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78 by 8.9%.
FirstEnergy Corp. FE reported first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 67 cents per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 1.5%.
Avangrid Inc. AGR reported first-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 78 cents per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents by 1.3%.
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