Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $56.44 and last traded at $56.30, with a volume of 698452 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Remove Ads

Robert Half Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $64.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.32.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Robert Half's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Robert Half's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Robert Half

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Robert Half by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,681,340 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $315,569,000 after buying an additional 1,049,005 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Robert Half in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,792,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 85,878 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,051,000 after acquiring an additional 16,668 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Robert Half by 347.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,586 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 12,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Robert Half by 20.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 270,467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,232,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares during the period. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.