Royce & Associates LP Purchases 172,158 Shares of Resources Connection, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGP)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Resources Connection, Inc. by 9.1% in Q1, owning over 2 million shares valued at approximately $13.50 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded their rating for Resources Connection, lowering their price objective from $9.50 to $5.00 and assigning an "underweight" rating.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.84% despite a negative dividend payout ratio.

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Resources Connection, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGP - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,063,619 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 172,158 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 6.24% of Resources Connection worth $13,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Resources Connection by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 963,619 shares of the company's stock worth $8,220,000 after purchasing an additional 268,954 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Resources Connection by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 261,688 shares of the company's stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 173,333 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Resources Connection by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 832,786 shares of the company's stock worth $7,104,000 after buying an additional 156,280 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in Resources Connection during the 4th quarter worth about $1,299,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Resources Connection by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 343,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 126,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on RGP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Resources Connection from $9.50 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Resources Connection from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Resources Connection Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of RGP stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $5.47. 110,707 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,337. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.35. The stock has a market cap of $180.73 million, a PE ratio of -0.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.64. Resources Connection, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.81 and a 12 month high of $12.19.

Resources Connection Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. Resources Connection's dividend payout ratio is presently -4.81%.

Resources Connection Company Profile

Resources Connection, Inc provides consulting services to business customers under the Resources Global Professionals name in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers services in the areas of transactions, including integration and divestitures, bankruptcy/restructuring, going public readiness and support, financial process optimization, and system implementation; and regulations, such as accounting regulations, internal audit and compliance, data privacy and security, healthcare compliance, and regulatory compliance.