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Why Investors Should Retain Robert Half (RHI) Stock Now

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Robert Half International Inc. (RHI - Free Report) is benefiting from its wholly-owned subsidiary, Protiviti, as well as software initiatives.

RHI has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score condenses all the essential metrics from the company’s financial statements to get a true sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth. The stock has gained 5.6% in the past month, outperforming the 2.7% rally of the industry it belongs to.

Factors That Augur Well

Protiviti, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, through which it offers internal audit, technology consulting, digital transformation, legal consulting, and risk and compliance consulting services, is in good shape. Protiviti revenues increased 6.9% year over year in 2022.

Robert Half has been utilizing a major share of its capital expenditure on investments in software initiatives and technology infrastructure. Further, the company continues to invest in digital technology initiatives designed to enhance the service offerings to both clients and candidates. Technology investments, a broad and deep client, as well as candidate database, and network scope and global scale are likely to drive long-term growth for the company.

Commitment to shareholder returns makes Robert Half a reliable way for investors to compound wealth over the long term. In 2022, 2021 and 2020, it paid $189.3 million, $170.6 million and $155.9 million as dividends and repurchased shares worth $319.9 million, $287.7 million and $277.5 million, respectively. Such initiatives not only instill investors’ confidence but also positively impact the company's earnings.

A Risk

Robert Half’s current ratio (a measure of liquidity) stood at 1.86 at the end of second-quarter 2023, lower than the prior quarter’s 1.96. The gradually decreasing current ratio does not bode well.  

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Robert Half currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

The following better-ranked stocks from the Business Services sector are worth consideration:

Verisk Analytics (VRSK - Free Report) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and matched on one instance, with an average surprise of 9.9%. The consensus mark for 2023 revenues is pegged at $2.66 billion, suggesting a decrease of 8.2% from the year-ago figure. The consensus estimate for 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.72 per share, indicating a 14.2% rise from the year-ago figure. VRSK currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Automatic Data (ADP - Free Report) currently has a Zacks Rank of 2. It outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 3.1%. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2023 revenues and earnings implies growth of 6.3% and 11.1%, respectively.

Broadridge (BR - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missed once and matched on one instance, the average surprise being 0.5%. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2024 revenues and earnings indicates growth of 7.2% and 8.8%, respectively.

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