Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 122,024 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,479,091 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122,024 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Xcel Energy worth $167,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 42,001 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,433,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $67.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.47.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

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.