Robert Half (NYSE:RHI – Get Free Report) and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability and valuation.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Robert Half and Korn/Ferry International, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Robert Half | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Korn/Ferry International | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Robert Half presently has a consensus target price of $45.8333, indicating a potential upside of 31.67%. Korn/Ferry International has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.87%. Given Robert Half’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Robert Half is more favorable than Korn/Ferry International.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Robert Half | 3.20% | 13.00% | 6.27% |
| Korn/Ferry International | 8.91% | 14.49% | 7.21% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
92.4% of Robert Half shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Korn/Ferry International shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Robert Half shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Korn/Ferry International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Robert Half and Korn/Ferry International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Robert Half | $5.57 billion | 0.64 | $251.60 million | $1.75 | 19.89 |
| Korn/Ferry International | $2.76 billion | 1.36 | $246.06 million | $4.62 | 15.53 |
Robert Half has higher revenue and earnings than Korn/Ferry International. Korn/Ferry International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Robert Half, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Robert Half has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Korn/Ferry International has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Robert Half pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Korn/Ferry International pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Robert Half pays out 134.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Korn/Ferry International pays out 41.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Robert Half has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Korn/Ferry International has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Robert Half is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Korn/Ferry International beats Robert Half on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. This segment markets its services to clients and employment candidates through both national and local advertising activities, including radio, digital advertising, job boards, alliance partners, and events. The Permanent Placement Talent Solutions segment engages in the placement of full-time accounting, finance, and tax and accounting operations personnel. The Protiviti segment offers consulting services in the areas of internal audit, technology consulting, risk, and compliance consulting. It offers it services under the Robert Half brand name. The company was formerly known as Robert Half International Inc. and changed its name to Robert Half Inc. in July 2023. Robert Half Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
About Korn/Ferry International
Korn Ferry, together with its subsidiaries, provides organizational consulting services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) & Professional Search. The company provides executive search services to recruit board level, chief executive, other senior executive, and general management talent of organizations. It also offers organizational strategy, assessment and succession, leadership and professional development, and total reward services. In addition, the company provides RPO, business project, professional search, and outsource recruiting solutions. Further, the company offers tech-enabled solutions that identify structures, roles, capabilities, and behaviors to drive businesses. It serves public and private companies, and middle market and emerging growth companies, as well as government and non-profit organizations. The company was formerly known as Korn/Ferry International and changed its name to Korn Ferry in January 2019. Korn Ferry was founded in 1969 and is based in Los Angeles, California.
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