Xcel Energy price target lowered to $72 from $74 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst David Arcaro lowered the firm’s price target on Xcel Energy (XEL) to $72 from $74 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Utilities underperformed the S&P’s -0.91% return in October, leading the firm to adjust the price targets of several stocks in its North America Regulated & Diversified Utilities / IPPs coverage, the analyst tells investors. From recent meetings at the EEI Financial Conference, the firm came away incrementally negative on California, given its increased regulatory and political risk as well as its relatively limited data center growth.