Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) Short Interest Up 17.0% in January

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,090,000 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the January 15th total of 7,770,000 shares. Currently, 9.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Robert Half Price Performance

Shares of Robert Half stock traded up $1.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,620,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,308,436. Robert Half has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $83.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.67. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64 and a beta of 1.23.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 4.34%. On average, research analysts forecast that Robert Half will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on RHI. BNP Paribas raised Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised Robert Half from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial raised Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Robert Half presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Robert Half

In other Robert Half news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $76,729.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $915,248.50. This represents a 7.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Robert Half

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Robert Half by 613.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Robert Half in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Robert Half in the third quarter worth $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Robert Half by 79.7% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Robert Half by 121.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% 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.