Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Trading 3.7% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) shares traded up 3.7% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $68.38 and last traded at $68.11. 370,903 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,412,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.70.

The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Robert Half had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 5.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Robert Half’s payout ratio is 63.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on RHI shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Robert Half from $72.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Robert Half from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Robert Half from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Robert Half from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Robert Half currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Transactions at Robert Half

In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $82,017.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $841,746.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Robert Half

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Robert Half by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,795,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,410,000 after buying an additional 366,978 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Robert Half by 14.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,749,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,963,000 after purchasing an additional 479,384 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Robert Half by 105.4% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,655,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $289,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875,476 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Robert Half by 54.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,628,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $104,218,000 after purchasing an additional 575,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Robert Half by 101.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,439,000 after purchasing an additional 786,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half Stock Up 2.8 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.23.

About Robert Half

Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti segments. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.