Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Trading Up 4% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) shares rose 4% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $40.49 and last traded at $39.84. Approximately 93,683 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 730,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.30.

The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $423.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.43 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.44% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Federated Hermes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Federated Hermes's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FHI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Federated Hermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Insider Transactions at Federated Hermes

In related news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $829,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 19.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter worth about $585,000. Institutional investors own 75.94% of the company's stock.

Federated Hermes Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.69.

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.