Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,479,091 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,024 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.43% of Xcel Energy worth $167,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,137,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,591,517. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.05 and a 200 day moving average of $67.60. The company has a market capitalization of $39.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About Xcel Energy

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.