Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Stock Price Up 4% Following Earnings Beat

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) was up 4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $40.49 and last traded at $39.84. Approximately 93,683 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 730,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.30.

The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.44% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $423.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.43 million.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Federated Hermes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FHI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.17.

Insider Transactions at Federated Hermes

In other Federated Hermes news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $6,950,715.76. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Federated Hermes by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,919,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after acquiring an additional 253,553 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,888,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,626,000 after purchasing an additional 63,664 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,731,000 after purchasing an additional 32,070 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,276,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,493,000 after purchasing an additional 446,683 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Federated Hermes by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,618,000 after buying an additional 145,878 shares during the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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.