Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Federated Hermes stock was downgraded from "strong-buy" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting uncertainties in the stock's performance.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.16, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.99, with a 5.5% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Brokerages have issued varied ratings, with one sell, four holds, and two buys, resulting in an overall consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.50.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FHI. TD Cowen lowered Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.50.

Federated Hermes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHI opened at $49.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.25. Federated Hermes has a fifty-two week low of $31.94 and a fifty-two week high of $50.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.04.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $424.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.83 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $255,241.98. Following the sale, the vice president owned 316,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,355,430.20. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Federated Hermes in the second quarter worth about $396,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the second quarter worth approximately $1,734,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 28.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,304 shares of the company's stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 6,247 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 9,346.1% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 39,107 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 38,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Federated Hermes during the 2nd quarter valued at $162,000. 75.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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