Analysts Turn Bullish on Xcel Energy (XEL) Amid Data Center Boom

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) is one of the best infrastructure stocks to buy right now. On February 13, UBS upgraded Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) from Neutral to Buy and increased its price target to $89 from $81. Analyst William Appicelli made the upgrade.

Appicelli noted that Xcel has a steady 9% earnings-per-share expansion, backed by full regulatory oversight, plus rising data center electricity needs that remain underappreciated in the current valuation. The analyst also highlighted Xcel’s recent hike in expected data center load to 4 gigawatts from 2 gigawatts. Further upside came from transmission work in the SPP market, and Colorado plans adding 2.1 gigawatts, said Appicelli.

As a result, UBS baked in a 7% premium to the sector average for its model. The firm is also eyeing two turns of P/E multiple gains, and dismissed Texas Smokehouse fire resolution costs as under $100 million.

Independent of the analyst action, Xcel shared Q4 2025 results on February 5, in which ongoing EPS was $0.96 per share. This figure fell at the lower end of Wall Street’s estimated range, and was up 18.5% year over year.

According to the earnings report, quarterly revenue hit $3.56 billion, which narrowly missed the $3.64-$3.77 billion forecast. Nonetheless, the revenue jumped 14.1% year over year. Management attributed the growth to a 14.2% increase in electric and natural gas sales.

The company reaffirmed FY2026 ongoing EPS of $4.04-$4.16 and a long-term 6-8+% annual growth through 2030 via $60 billion capex.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) is a regulated utility company. It provides electricity and natural gas to 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers across eight states.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.