Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.12 and last traded at $46.80, with a volume of 33620 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on FHI shares. TD Cowen cut Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Federated Hermes Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.57 and a 200 day moving average of $40.60. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 32.17%. The firm had revenue of $423.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This is a boost from Federated Hermes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Federated Hermes news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,057 shares of Federated Hermes 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 316,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,355,430.20. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federated Hermes

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