Robert Half Shares Surge 27.83% Following Price Target Upgrade
Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) saw its shares jump 27.83% on Friday, closing at $34.61, as investors were buoyed by an investment firm's 14% price target upgrade, indicating strong market optimism about its future performance.
Truist raised Robert Half's price target from $35 to $40 while maintaining a 'buy' rating, suggesting analysts' confidence in the company's long-term growth potential despite its disappointing performance last year. The company reported a 47% drop in net income to $132.99 million last year, with service revenues declining by 7% to $5.38 billion, reflecting challenges faced in a competitive market environment.
The significant price target upgrade has led to increased investor interest, and if the company can address its performance issues, it may see further appreciation in its stock price.
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- Stock Surge: Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) saw its shares jump 27.83% on Friday, closing at $34.61, as investors were buoyed by an investment firm's 14% price target upgrade, indicating strong market optimism about its future performance.
- Target Price Adjustment: Truist raised Robert Half's price target from $35 to $40 while maintaining a 'buy' rating, suggesting analysts' confidence in the company's long-term growth potential despite its disappointing performance last year.
- Declining Performance: The company reported a 47% drop in net income to $132.99 million last year, with service revenues declining by 7% to $5.38 billion, reflecting challenges faced in a competitive market environment.
- Quarterly Results: In the fourth quarter, net profit fell 42% year-over-year to $31.7 million, while service revenues decreased by 5.8% to $1.3 billion, indicating pressure on the company's short-term profitability and the need for performance improvement measures.
- Significant Stock Surge: Robert Half International (RHI) saw its stock price rise by 26% to $34.46 by 1 p.m., with a market cap of $2.7 billion, indicating strong market confidence in its earnings report and potential economic recovery signals.
- Earnings Report Highlights: Despite a year-over-year decline in revenue and earnings, CEO Keith Waddell noted that talent solutions and enterprise revenues achieved positive sequential growth for the first time in over three years, suggesting a pivotal turning point that could attract more investor interest.
- Future Outlook: Waddell projected that the company would return to year-over-year growth by the third quarter of 2025, and while the recovery may be slow in the short term, confirmation of growth momentum in the first half could lead to substantial stock appreciation in 2026, reflecting broader economic improvement.
- Small Business Market Potential: Waddell's positive remarks on small businesses could bode well for companies like UPS, which increasingly rely on the small and medium-sized business market for growth, highlighting Robert Half's significant role in the economic recovery.
- Revenue Performance: In Q4 2025, global enterprise revenues reached $1.302 billion, down 6% year-over-year, yet the company achieved positive sequential growth on a same-day constant currency basis for the first time, indicating recovery potential in the market.
- Cash Flow and Dividends: The operating cash flow hit $183 million, an 18% increase from the previous year, while a dividend of $0.59 per share was distributed, underscoring the company's financial health and commitment to shareholder returns.
- Segment Performance: U.S. talent solutions revenues were $623 million, down 9% year-over-year, while Protiviti's global revenues totaled $479 million; despite overall declines, international performance was strong with a 9% increase in non-U.S. revenues.
- Future Outlook: The guidance for Q1 2026 projects revenues between $1.26 billion and $1.36 billion, indicating continued positive growth in talent solutions, reflecting the company's confidence and strategic positioning for future market opportunities.
- Earnings Announcement Date: Robert Half (RHI) is set to release its Q4 earnings on January 29 after market close, drawing significant attention from investors regarding its performance.
- EPS Expectations: Analysts forecast an EPS of $0.30, representing a 43.4% year-over-year decline, indicating increasing pressure on the company's profitability.
- Revenue Forecast Decline: The company anticipates Q4 revenue of $1.29 billion, down 6.5% year-over-year, reflecting the adverse impact of the macroeconomic environment on its business.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Given ongoing macro pressures and competitive challenges, the market remains cautious about Robert Half's future performance, which may affect its stock price.

- Executive Promotions: Robert Half has promoted three senior leaders to enhance the company's management capabilities in innovation and technology, reinforcing its leadership position in the global talent solutions sector.
- Strategic Focus: This leadership change reflects the company's commitment to innovation, technology, and security, indicating its dedication to addressing market challenges through enhanced leadership in a rapidly evolving business environment.
- Business Transformation: By promoting executives, Robert Half aims to better integrate technology with talent solutions in future business developments, thereby improving client service quality and market competitiveness.
- Market Response: This move not only strengthens the internal leadership structure but may also attract more clients to its capabilities in business transformation and technological innovation, further enhancing the company's influence in the industry.









