Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com cut shares of Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

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

Federated Hermes Stock Up 0.4 %

FHI opened at $40.93 on Tuesday. Federated Hermes has a 1 year low of $31.24 and a 1 year high of $43.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.70. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Federated Hermes’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $215,240.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,950,715.76. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FHI. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Federated Hermes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,817,000. ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Federated Hermes by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 37,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,020 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL bought a new position in Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter worth $641,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Federated Hermes by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 214,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,824,000 after buying an additional 24,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

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.