Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $60.96 and last traded at $60.6050, with a volume of 62398 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FHI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Federated Hermes from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.75.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 3.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.13.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $478.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.22 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.47% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Federated Hermes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Federated Hermes news, VP Bryan M. Burke sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,060,718.20. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 8,950 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.34, for a total value of $513,193.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 151,276 shares in the company, valued at $8,674,165.84. This trade represents a 5.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,097,000 after acquiring an additional 50,067 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,032,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,879,000 after buying an additional 12,348 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,939,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,669,000 after purchasing an additional 670,643 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Federated Hermes by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,890,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,497,000 after buying an additional 489,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 3,229.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 2,657,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,992,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577,442 shares during the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Federated Hermes

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.