Xcel Energy price target raised to $81 from $79 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Xcel Energy (XEL) to $81 from $79 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm is updating its price targets for stocks in the Regulated & Diversified Utilities / IPPs North America sector, noting utilities outperformed the S&P in July, the analyst tells investors. Following a collaboration with its global team, the firm now sees long-term advantages of nuclear that it believes are underappreciated in current market narratives. Guidance for large scale renewables and residential solar was broadly positive, while IPP earnings offered mostly positive data points, the firm adds.