Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Robert Half (NYSE:RHI)

Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 2,974 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,264% compared to the typical volume of 218 put options.

Robert Half Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:RHI opened at $54.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 1.22. Robert Half has a 12 month low of $53.53 and a 12 month high of $81.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.35.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 17.20%. On average, research analysts expect that Robert Half will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. This is a positive change from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Institutional Trading of Robert Half

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Robert Half by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Robert Half by 0.9% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 30,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Robert Half by 310.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Robert Half by 345.1% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 18,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 14,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Robert Half by 79.6% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.