Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) Stock Price Down 7.6% – Should You Sell?

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) shares were down 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $24.21 and last traded at $24.08. 496,157 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,148,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RHI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Robert Half from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Robert Half from $36.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Robert Half from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised Robert Half from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $31.75.

Robert Half Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.69.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.14. Robert Half had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Robert Half’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 181.54%.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RHI. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in Robert Half by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 46,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Robert Half by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Robert Half by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Robert Half by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Robert Half by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 56,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

About Robert Half

Robert Half International Inc, founded in 1948 by Robert Half, is a global professional staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As a pioneer in specialized staffing, the company has built a reputation for matching skilled professionals with leading organizations across a range of industries. Robert Half’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RHI, reflecting its position as one of the longest?standing and best?known firms in the staffing sector.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including temporary staffing, permanent placement, and consulting solutions.