Short Interest in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) Expands By 14.4%

Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the May 31st total of 2,910,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 849,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Federated Hermes Trading Up 0.6 %

Federated Hermes stock opened at $32.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.17. Federated Hermes has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $37.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.27.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 27.00%. The firm had revenue of $396.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Federated Hermes will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Federated Hermes’s previous None dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Federated Hermes’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Federated Hermes from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total transaction of $31,241.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 298,578 shares in the company, valued at $9,384,306.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 994 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total transaction of $31,241.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 298,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,384,306.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 975 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total value of $32,175.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 299,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,885,876. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,361 shares of company stock worth $76,360 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FHI. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 308.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 34,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 26,382 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $538,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 183.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 801,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,145,000 after purchasing an additional 518,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,418,000. 75.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.