Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Shares Down 5.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Robert Half shares fell 5.5% to about $42.51, despite the company slightly exceeding quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $0.49 versus $0.47 and reporting $1.36 billion in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an overall “Hold” rating, with three Buy, four Hold, and three Sell recommendations. The average price target is $40.75, below the recent share price, although several firms recently raised their targets to $45–$50.
• Robert Half offers a substantial dividend of $2.36 annually, yielding approximately 5.6%; however, its payout ratio is elevated at 195%, which may raise questions about dividend sustainability.

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5.5% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $42.48 and last traded at $42.51. Approximately 1,477,556 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 2,612,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Robert Half from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Robert Half from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Robert Half from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Robert Half from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Robert Half from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Robert Half currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.75.

Robert Half Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.95.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Robert Half had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 9.83%. Robert Half's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Robert Half Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Robert Half's payout ratio is presently 195.04%.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RHI. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,822 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter valued at $388,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter valued at $346,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, 55 North Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter valued at $240,000. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Robert Half

Robert Half Inc NYSE: RHI is a global talent solutions and business consulting company. Through its Robert Half brand, the company provides temporary, project-based and permanent staffing services, connecting employers with professionals in accounting and finance, administrative and customer support, technology, legal, and marketing and creative fields.

Robert Half also operates Protiviti, a global consulting firm that helps organizations address internal audit, risk and compliance, technology, business performance, and digital transformation challenges.

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