Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, a decline of 12.9% from the July 15th total of 2,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 763,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

Federated Hermes Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Federated Hermes stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.78. The company had a trading volume of 318,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,089. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.23 and its 200-day moving average is $34.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.75. Federated Hermes has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $37.10.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.35 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 28.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This is an increase from Federated Hermes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $32,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 299,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,885,876. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP John B. Fisher sold 79,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total transaction of $2,611,239.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 442,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,476,464.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $32,175.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 299,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,885,876. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,263 shares of company stock valued at $2,690,030 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 349,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,501,000 after buying an additional 89,140 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Federated Hermes by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 969,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,888,000 after purchasing an additional 10,552 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Federated Hermes by 111.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 33,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 17,701 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Federated Hermes by 88.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,200,000. Institutional investors own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

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.