Robert Half Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:RHI)

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 2,974 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,264% compared to the average volume of 218 put options.

Robert Half Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RHI opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 1.22. Robert Half has a 1 year low of $53.53 and a 1 year high of $81.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.30.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 4.34%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Robert Half will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.72%.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Robert Half by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,554,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $602,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271,237 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Robert Half by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,079,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $569,288,000 after buying an additional 3,398,257 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Robert Half by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,433,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,930,000 after buying an additional 148,577 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Robert Half by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,217,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,740,000 after buying an additional 17,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in shares of Robert Half by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,251,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,644,000 after acquiring an additional 300,524 shares in the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial raised Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised Robert Half from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.92.

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 Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti segments. 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.