Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Shares Up 9.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 9.7% intraday to $25.87 on Monday, on trading volume about 47% below the stock's average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $31.75, while individual brokers range from a Truist "buy" with a $40 target to Barclays' $25 "equal weight."
• Fundamentals are mixed: Robert Half slightly beat quarterly EPS ($0.32 vs. $0.30) but revenue fell 5.8% year-over-year, and it pays a high annualized dividend yielding 9.1% with a 177% payout ratio, which may be unsustainable.

Shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) shot up 9.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.85 and last traded at $25.87. 1,730,514 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 3,282,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RHI. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Robert Half from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Robert Half from $36.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Robert Half from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Robert Half from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Robert Half currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $31.75.

Robert Half Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.52.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Robert Half had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. Robert Half's payout ratio is currently 177.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Robert Half

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 181.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 77,547 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,107,000 after buying an additional 50,004 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 25,993 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 12,036 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,933,796 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,522,000 after buying an additional 638,084 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 73,675 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 9,634 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 29,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 7,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Robert Half Company Profile

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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