Stephens Initiates Coverage on Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY)

Key Points

• Stephens initiated coverage of Korn/Ferry International with an “overweight” rating and a $94 price target, implying 24.11% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $83, based on five Buy, one Hold, and one Sell rating.
• Korn/Ferry beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.43 versus a $1.36 estimate and revenue of $764.62 million versus a $737.66 million estimate; revenue rose 6.9% year over year.

Stephens started coverage on shares of Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY - Get Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $94.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Stephens's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.11% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on KFY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Korn/Ferry International in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Korn/Ferry International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Korn/Ferry International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Korn/Ferry International from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Korn/Ferry International Stock Down 0.4%

KFY opened at $75.74 on Friday. Korn/Ferry International has a twelve month low of $58.95 and a twelve month high of $87.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.50. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The business services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.07. Korn/Ferry International had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $764.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $737.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Korn/Ferry International's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Korn/Ferry International has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.300-1.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Korn/Ferry International will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Korn/Ferry International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Korn/Ferry International by 4.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,003,385 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,065,000 after buying an additional 122,669 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Korn/Ferry International by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 793,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,823,000 after buying an additional 308,373 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Korn/Ferry International in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,812,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Korn/Ferry International by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 561,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,131,000 after acquiring an additional 176,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Korn/Ferry International in the 2nd quarter worth $26,722,682. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.82% of the company's stock.

About Korn/Ferry International

Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm that helps companies align their business strategies with their talent and organizational capabilities. Founded in 1969 as an executive-search firm, it has expanded into a broader provider of talent and leadership services. The company's offerings include executive and professional search, recruitment process outsourcing, leadership assessment and development, succession planning, and organizational and compensation consulting. It also provides digital tools and advisory services to support workforce planning and talent management.

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