StockNews.com Downgrades Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) to Buy

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FHI. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $41.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $44.00 price target on Federated Hermes in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.17.

Federated Hermes Price Performance

Federated Hermes stock opened at $39.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10. Federated Hermes has a 12-month low of $31.24 and a 12-month high of $43.92.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.08. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.44% and a return on equity of 30.31%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $215,240.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 179,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,950,715.76. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

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

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.