Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on RHI. BNP Paribas upgraded Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upgraded Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Robert Half from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Robert Half has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.92.

Robert Half Stock Down 2.0 %

RHI stock opened at $53.08 on Wednesday. Robert Half has a 52-week low of $52.55 and a 52-week high of $81.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 1.22.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 17.20%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Robert Half will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RHI. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $569,288,000 after acquiring an additional 3,398,257 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,554,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $602,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the fourth quarter worth about $60,257,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 5,172.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 693,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,857,000 after acquiring an additional 680,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 293.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 831,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,578,000 after acquiring an additional 619,982 shares during the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.