Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 529,561 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 56% from the previous session’s volume of 339,894 shares.The stock last traded at $65.64 and had previously closed at $67.27.

The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.06. Korn Ferry had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $676.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis.

Korn Ferry Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Korn Ferry’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. Korn Ferry’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KFY shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Korn Ferry from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Korn Ferry from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Korn Ferry in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Korn Ferry by 230.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Korn Ferry by 828.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Korn Ferry during the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Korn Ferry in the 4th quarter valued at $162,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.82% of the company’s stock.

Korn Ferry Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.53 and its 200 day moving average is $70.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry, together with its subsidiaries, provides organizational consulting services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) & Professional Search. The company provides executive search services to recruit board level, chief executive, other senior executive, and general management talent of organizations.