Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,768,384 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,168,655 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.64% of Xcel Energy worth $303,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 35.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,884,000 after buying an additional 1,645,571 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 94.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 15,083 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,176,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,196,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $76.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $83.01.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 13.46%.The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 69.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on XEL shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.53.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.