Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $66.76, but opened at $76.70. Korn/Ferry International shares last traded at $72.61, with a volume of 377,182 shares.

The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $712.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $690.07 million. Korn/Ferry International had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 8.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share.

Korn/Ferry International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Korn/Ferry International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KFY. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Korn/Ferry International from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Korn/Ferry International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Korn/Ferry International from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KFY. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Korn/Ferry International by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Korn/Ferry International by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,851,000 after purchasing an additional 7,510 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Korn/Ferry International in the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Korn/Ferry International by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Korn/Ferry International by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 753,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,818,000 after purchasing an additional 93,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.82% of the company’s stock.

Korn/Ferry International Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13.

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.