Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on FHI. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Federated Hermes Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FHI stock opened at $50.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 3.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.33 and its 200-day moving average is $48.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.83. Federated Hermes has a 52-week low of $35.05 and a 52-week high of $54.42.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $469.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.67 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 32.30%. Federated Hermes’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Federated Hermes’s payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total value of $728,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,622,673.06. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Dolores D. Dudiak sold 999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total value of $47,822.13. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 88,223 shares in the company, valued at $4,223,235.01. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,709 shares of company stock worth $1,049,146 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Federated Hermes by 2.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Federated Hermes by 373.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 91,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after buying an additional 72,173 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Federated Hermes in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $238,000. 75.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.