Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $54.48 and last traded at $54.1420, with a volume of 219772 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on FHI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Federated Hermes from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Federated Hermes from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.20.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.84.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.23. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 33.03%. The firm had revenue of $469.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kendall Capital Management raised its holdings in Federated Hermes by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 87,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,563,000 after acquiring an additional 12,980 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at $1,268,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Federated Hermes during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Federated Hermes by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

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.