Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 529,561 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 56% from the previous session’s volume of 339,894 shares.The stock last traded at $65.64 and had previously closed at $67.27.

The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.06. Korn Ferry had a return on equity of 14.27% and a net margin of 9.03%. The company had revenue of $676.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis.

Korn Ferry Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from Korn Ferry’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Korn Ferry’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KFY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Korn Ferry from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Korn Ferry from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Korn Ferry

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Korn Ferry in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Korn Ferry by 230.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Korn Ferry by 828.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Korn Ferry during the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Korn Ferry during the fourth quarter worth approximately $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.82% of the company’s stock.

Korn Ferry Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.78. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

About Korn Ferry

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.