J.P. Morgan Lowers PT To $21.50 On FII

J.P. Morgan, citing higher fee waivers and lower fee rates, has lowered its price target on Federated Investors Inc. FII from $22.50 to $21.50 and maintains an Underweight rating on the stock. Says J.P. Morgan, “Federated reported 1Q EPS of $0.32, but excluding an $0.11 charge for litigation the results were $0.33, in line with the consensus, but ahead of our projection. Federated made the best of challenging market conditions by controlling expenses. Here challenges included a material decline in short term interest rates, unusually weak returns in the Kaufmann fund, and some higher redemptions from its equity mutual funds. We lower our estimates based on higher fee waivers and a lower fee rate. We maintain our Underweight rating.” FII closed at $25.78 on Friday.