Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Raises Dividend to $1.31 Per Share

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) announced a None dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 1.31 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from Federated Hermes’s previous None dividend of $1.27.

Federated Hermes has increased its dividend by an average of 0.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Federated Hermes has a dividend payout ratio of 27.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Federated Hermes to earn $4.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.1%.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHI traded down $1.35 on Friday, reaching $32.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,806,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,194. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.12. Federated Hermes has a 52-week low of $30.23 and a 52-week high of $42.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. The firm had revenue of $396.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.26 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 27.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Federated Hermes will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 8,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.15, for a total value of $300,117.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,176 shares in the company, valued at $6,441,062.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Meter Stephen Van sold 1,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.15, for a total transaction of $60,009.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 31,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,557.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 8,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.15, for a total transaction of $300,117.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,441,062.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,435 shares of company stock worth $4,092,831 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FHI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

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.