Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on FHI. UBS Group boosted their price target on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.17.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FHI opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.17. Federated Hermes has a one year low of $31.24 and a one year high of $43.92.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.08. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.44% and a return on equity of 30.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Federated Hermes news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $215,240.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 179,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,950,715.76. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Federated Hermes by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,919,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after purchasing an additional 253,553 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,888,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,626,000 after buying an additional 63,664 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Federated Hermes by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,731,000 after buying an additional 32,070 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Federated Hermes by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,276,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,493,000 after buying an additional 446,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Federated Hermes by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,618,000 after buying an additional 145,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

Federated Hermes Company Profile

Federated Hermes, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors.