Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Short Interest Update

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, an increase of 26.4% from the February 13th total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 726,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FHI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI set a $44.00 price target on Federated Hermes in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Federated Hermes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.17.

Federated Hermes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHI traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.17. 793,743 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Federated Hermes has a 52-week low of $31.24 and a 52-week high of $43.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.03. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.08. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 16.44%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Federated Hermes will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Federated Hermes’s payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In related news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,950,715.76. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital bought a new position in Federated Hermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,817,000. ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 37,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,020 shares during the last quarter. CSS LLC IL bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 214,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,824,000 after acquiring an additional 24,964 shares during the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.