Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Robert Half in the first quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Robert Half in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Robert Half by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Robert Half by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Robert Half Price Performance

RHI traded up $2.39 on Friday, reaching $62.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,117,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,214. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.40 and its 200 day moving average is $72.69. Robert Half Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $88.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.25.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.05). Robert Half had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Robert Half’s payout ratio is currently 63.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on RHI. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Robert Half from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Robert Half from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Robert Half from $72.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Robert Half from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.86.

Insider Transactions at Robert Half

In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.66, for a total transaction of $154,714.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $746,267.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.