Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.04 and last traded at $44.77, with a volume of 487701 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FHI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.33.

Federated Hermes Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.21. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 32.17% and a net margin of 17.74%. The firm had revenue of $423.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Federated Hermes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.31%.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In related news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,057 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $255,241.98. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 316,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,355,430.20. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federated Hermes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Federated Hermes by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,760,811 shares of the company's stock worth $357,178,000 after acquiring an additional 265,590 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,919,888 shares of the company's stock worth $243,367,000 after purchasing an additional 253,553 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Federated Hermes by 249.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,199,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,284,509 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 6.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,367,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,533,000 after buying an additional 137,248 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,904,596 shares of the company's stock worth $77,650,000 after acquiring an additional 16,333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.