Royce & Associates LP Purchases 310,516 Shares of Robert Half Inc. $RHI

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP sharply boosted its stake in Robert Half, buying 310,516 shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings to 322,201 shares worth about $8.75 million.
• Robert Half reported Q1 earnings of $0.14 per share, matching analyst estimates, while revenue of $1.30 billion came in below expectations and fell 3.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, implying an annualized yield of 8.3%, though the payout ratio is high at 181.54%.

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) by 2,657.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,201 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 310,516 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.32% of Robert Half worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RHI. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 190.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,201,209 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $254,560,000 after purchasing an additional 4,066,328 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 460.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,341,133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $147,512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,566,645 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,394,851 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $119,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,883 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 1,478.6% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,145,456 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,895 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,440,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,297,000 after purchasing an additional 707,078 shares during the period. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Robert Half Stock Performance

Shares of RHI stock opened at $28.45 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $25.94 and its 200-day moving average is $26.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.80. Robert Half Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.83 and a 52 week high of $46.69.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Robert Half had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Robert Half Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Robert Half's dividend payout ratio is presently 181.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RHI has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair upgraded Robert Half from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Robert Half from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Robert Half from $36.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Robert Half from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Robert Half from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $31.75.

About Robert Half

Robert Half International Inc, founded in 1948 by Robert Half, is a global professional staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As a pioneer in specialized staffing, the company has built a reputation for matching skilled professionals with leading organizations across a range of industries. Robert Half's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RHI, reflecting its position as one of the longest‐standing and best‐known firms in the staffing sector.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including temporary staffing, permanent placement, and consulting solutions.

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