What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the release of a surprisingly weak February jobs report showed an unexpected drop in employment. 

The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs, a stark contrast to economists' forecasts of a 60,000 gain. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3% in January. This unexpected downturn in the labor market signals potential economic strain, which tends to negatively impact the financial industry. A weakening economy can lead to reduced borrowing and investment activity by businesses and consumers, directly affecting banks' revenues. Moreover, it raises concerns about the ability of borrowers to repay existing loans, increasing credit risk for lenders. The report was described as a 'knock-down blow' to the view that the labor market was stabilizing, fueling investor uncertainty.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Custody Bank company Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy Hamilton Lane? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custody Bank company Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy Franklin Resources? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custody Bank company Federated Hermes (NYSE: FHI) fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Federated Hermes? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Asset Management company Artisan Partners (NYSE: APAM) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Artisan Partners? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Personal Loan company OneMain (NYSE: OMF) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy OneMain? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Federated Hermes (FHI)

Federated Hermes’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 2 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that the company reported strong third-quarter 2025 financial results that beat Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines. 

The firm announced earnings per share of $1.34, which was a notable 19.2% above analyst estimates and a significant increase from $1.06 in the same period last year. Revenue also impressed, growing 14.9% year-over-year to $469.4 million, comfortably surpassing consensus estimates. The solid performance was underlined by a stable pre-tax profit margin of 29.9%, demonstrating the company's consistent profitability.

Federated Hermes is up 4.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $54.73 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $57.20 from March 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Federated Hermes’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,830.

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