Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 529,561 shares traded hands during 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.06. Korn Ferry had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $676.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Korn Ferry Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Korn Ferry’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Korn Ferry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Korn Ferry

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Korn Ferry by 80.8% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Korn Ferry by 5.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 271,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,463,000 after acquiring an additional 14,601 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Korn Ferry by 34.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Korn Ferry by 3.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 797,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,990,000 after acquiring an additional 27,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Korn Ferry in the third quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. 98.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Korn Ferry Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick 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.