Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on RHI. Redburn Partners assumed coverage on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. They issued a neutral rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reissued a market perform rating on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Robert Half from $88.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on Robert Half from $63.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Robert Half from $63.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $71.22.

Robert Half Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:RHI opened at $75.10 on Wednesday. Robert Half has a 12 month low of $64.65 and a 12 month high of $89.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.26. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.32.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.13). Robert Half had a return on equity of 34.51% and a net margin of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Robert Half will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 24th. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.15, for a total transaction of $152,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,056.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert W. Glass sold 14,751 shares of Robert Half stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $1,108,537.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 209,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,776,014.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,050 shares of Robert Half stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.15, for a total transaction of $152,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,056.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RHI. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Robert Half by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Robert Half by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Robert Half by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Robert Half by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 73,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its stake in Robert Half by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 92,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,603,000 after acquiring an additional 33,095 shares during the period. 91.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Robert Half

Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.