Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a drop of 34.6% from the October 15th total of 2,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 554,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FHI traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.18. 553,269 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 711,846. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.84. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Federated Hermes has a 52 week low of $31.08 and a 52 week high of $42.56.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.14. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 29.85%. The company had revenue of $408.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.87%.

Insider Transactions at Federated Hermes

In other Federated Hermes news, VP Dolores D. Dudiak sold 5,000 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.89, for a total value of $199,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 77,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,083,018.32. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 12,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $484,378.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 179,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,138,766.56. The trade was a 6.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Federated Hermes by 607.7% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Federated Hermes by 985.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Federated Hermes by 26.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FHI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Federated Hermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $46.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Federated Hermes from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Federated Hermes from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

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.