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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Federated Hermes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

Shares of FHI stock opened at $42.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.43. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.15. Federated Hermes has a 12-month low of $31.08 and a 12-month high of $43.23.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.14. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 29.85% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm had revenue of $408.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Federated Hermes’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Federated Hermes will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federated Hermes

In related news, insider Richard A. Novak sold 1,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total transaction of $56,523.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,232,620.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,311 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.39, for a total transaction of $261,212.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 310,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,862,646.13. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,280 shares of company stock worth $1,185,871. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 267.9% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 19,530 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Federated Hermes during the first quarter worth approximately $1,419,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,142,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,555,000 after purchasing an additional 324,958 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 102.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 282,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,308,000 after buying an additional 143,363 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Federated Hermes

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.