Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Position Increased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 247.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,284,305 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 915,046 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.23% of Xcel Energy worth $79,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Quilter Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $255,201,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on XEL. TheStreet downgraded Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $53.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.14. The company has a market cap of $29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $71.32.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The company’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.22%.

Xcel Energy 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.