Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $38.60, but opened at $39.80. Federated Hermes shares last traded at $39.62, with a volume of 99,590 shares.

The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $408.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.26 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 28.60%. Federated Hermes’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FHI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Federated Hermes from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In other Federated Hermes news, VP John B. Fisher sold 79,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total value of $2,611,239.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 442,570 shares in the company, valued at $14,476,464.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FHI. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 88.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,097 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Federated Hermes in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,913,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,142,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,555,000 after acquiring an additional 324,958 shares during the period. AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Federated Hermes during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,200,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 409,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,804,000 after acquiring an additional 154,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.20.

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.