Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Robert Half International in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. They set an underperform rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Robert Half International from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Robert Half International from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Robert Half International has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $77.44.

Robert Half International Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE RHI opened at $73.38 on Thursday. Robert Half International has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $122.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $80.34 and its 200-day moving average is $77.71.

Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The business services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Robert Half International had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Robert Half International will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 9th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Robert Half International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Robert Half International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 23rd. Robert Half International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 3,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.54, for a total value of $278,346.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $872,087.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 3,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.54, for a total transaction of $278,346.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $872,087.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Glass sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.94, for a total value of $1,011,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 217,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,567,946.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RHI. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half International during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Robert Half International during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Robert Half International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Robert Half International during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Robert Half International by 48.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.13% of the company’s stock.

About Robert Half International

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Robert Half International, Inc engages in the provision of staffing and risk consulting services. It operates through the following business segments: Temporary and Consultant Staffing, Permanent Placement Staffing, and Risk Consulting and Internal Audit Services. The Temporary and Consultant Staffing segment offers staffing in the accounting and finance, administrative and office, information technology, legal, advertising, marketing, and web design fields.