Short Interest in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Rises By 26.4%

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, a growth of 26.4% from the February 13th total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 726,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In related 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Federated Hermes by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,919,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after buying an additional 253,553 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $77,626,000 after buying an additional 63,664 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Federated Hermes by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,282,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,731,000 after buying an additional 32,070 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Federated Hermes by 53.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Federated Hermes by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,618,000 after buying an additional 145,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

Federated Hermes Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:FHI opened at $39.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10. Federated Hermes has a 1-year low of $31.24 and a 1-year high of $43.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FHI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI set a $44.00 price target on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.17.

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.