Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 915,046 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 247.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,284,305 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 915,046 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.23% of Xcel Energy worth $79,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quilter Plc acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $255,201,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.72. 4,477,716 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,430,382. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.22%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.