Bayforest Capital Ltd Makes New Investment in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired 13,252 shares of Federated Hermes, Inc., valued at approximately $540,000, marking a new investment in the company during the first quarter.
• As of now, hedge funds and institutional investors own 75.94% of Federated Hermes' stock, with multiple firms increasing their stakes last quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Federated Hermes, with one upgrading it to a "strong-buy" rating, while others set price targets between $40.00 and $45.00 for the stock.

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FHI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Federated Hermes by 246.6% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Federated Hermes by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

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

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHI traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $50.75. The company had a trading volume of 515,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 833,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.94 and a 12-month high of $51.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $424.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.83 million. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 21.67%. Federated Hermes's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio is 30.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FHI. TD Cowen cut Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Federated Hermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Federated Hermes from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.