Kforce (NASDAQ:KFRC) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Kforce Inc. reported disappointing earnings with a 0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.60, and its quarterly revenue fell 6.2% year-over-year.
• Shares of Kforce gapped down from a previous close of $46.91 to open at $44.32, and were last traded at $41.23.
• Brokerages have revised their ratings on Kforce, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it from "buy" to "hold" and UBS raising its target price from $40 to $45.

Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $46.91, but opened at $44.32. Kforce shares last traded at $41.23, with a volume of 9,756 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $334.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $333.78 million. Kforce had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 30.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share.

Kforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Kforce's payout ratio is 65.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KFRC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Kforce from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Kforce from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David L. Dunkel acquired 1,000 shares of Kforce stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $37.80 per share, for a total transaction of $37,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 517,329 shares in the company, valued at $19,555,036.20. This represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kforce by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kforce by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,841 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kforce by 18.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kforce by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,463 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Kforce by 147.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Kforce Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.68. The stock has a market cap of $637.09 million, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 2.06.

About Kforce

Kforce Inc provides professional staffing services and solutions in the United States. It operates through two segments, Technology, and Finance and Accounting (FA). The Technology segment provides talent solutions to its clients primarily in the areas of information technology, such as systems/applications architecture and development, data management and analytics, business and artificial intelligence, machine learning, project and program management, and network architecture and security.