Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.83 and last traded at $59.6590, with a volume of 1486720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FHI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Federated Hermes Trading Down 1.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.07. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 33.90% and a net margin of 21.47%.The firm had revenue of $478.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Federated Hermes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federated Hermes

In other Federated Hermes news, VP Bryan M. Burke sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total value of $216,800.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 74,921 shares in the company, valued at $4,060,718.20. The trade was a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.34, for a total transaction of $513,193.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,276 shares in the company, valued at $8,674,165.84. The trade was a 5.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 218,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,386,000 after acquiring an additional 83,529 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Federated Hermes by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,890,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,497,000 after acquiring an additional 489,275 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Federated Hermes by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 116,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,055,000 after purchasing an additional 31,240 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Federated Hermes in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,279,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Federated Hermes by 411.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 44,400 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 global investment manager that provides a range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The company offers active strategies across equity, fixed income, multi-asset, liquidity, and alternative investments. Through its suite of mutual funds, separate accounts and collective investment vehicles, Federated Hermes seeks to deliver performance-driven outcomes aligned with client objectives and risk tolerances.

In addition to traditional investment management, Federated Hermes has developed specialized capabilities in sustainability and responsible investing, integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) research into its investment process.