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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

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

Robert Half International Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of RHI opened at $73.38 on Thursday. Robert Half International has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $122.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.71. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Robert Half International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 9th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Robert Half International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Robert Half International

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

Institutional Trading of Robert Half International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Robert Half International by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Robert Half International by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 24,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 7,315 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Robert Half International by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Robert Half International by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Robert Half International by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.13% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half International Company Profile

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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.