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Xcel Energy (XEL) Price Target Boosted at Morgan Stanley. Here is Why

With an annual dividend yield of 2.90%, Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) is included among the 12 Best NASDAQ Stocks to Buy for Dividends.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) is a major US electricity and natural gas company with operations in 8 Western and Midwestern states.

On June 24, Morgan Stanley upped its price target on Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) from $87 to $89, while reaffirming an ‘Equal Weight’ rating on the shares. The target boost indicates an upside potential of almost 9% from the current share price.

The move comes after Morgan Stanley revised its price objectives for Regulated & Diversified Utilities / IPPs in North America for the month of May. The analyst firm noted that the utilities sector fell by 5.5% last month, significantly underperforming the gains of around 5.1% posted by the overall S&P during the period.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has grown its dividends for 23 consecutive years, and intends to carry on this momentum by targeting annual dividend increases of 4-6% and a payout ratio of 45-55%. The stock currently boasts a robust annual dividend yield of 2.90%.

The Mairs & Power, an investment firm, stated the following regarding Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

“Our build-up in exposure to Utilities in the last year aided relative performance in the quarter as the generally defensive sector overweight helped in a market that proved relatively choppy. The Fund owns Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) which we believe should benefit from stable and visible earnings growth from attractive service areas with favorable regulatory oversight.”

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of XEL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than XEL and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 12 Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy for Dividends and 12 High Yield Fortune 500 Stocks to Buy Now

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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Buy This $3 Stock Now Before the 400% Surge Begins

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

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We looked under the cover and realized they were wrong.

We alerted our subscribers, and BTI returned 90% in just 16 months.

Now if you had invested just $10,000 in BTI in June 2024, you’d be sitting on $19,000 in October 2025.

Today, we have identified a nearly identical pattern in a digital-first giant trading at $3.

While the market panics over a surface-level revenue decline, our PhD-led research shows management has actually surgically cut $100 million in waste to focus on high-margin growth.

This pattern is a hallmark of our 16.5% annual return track record. The current opportunity offers a 400% upside potential—dwarfing even our 90% BTI return.

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