Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Holdings in Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) by 1,846.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 886,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 841,413 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Korn Ferry were worth $59,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Korn Ferry during the 4th quarter worth $36,347,000. Circumference Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Korn Ferry in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,131,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Korn Ferry by 161.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 67,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,409,000 after purchasing an additional 41,416 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Korn Ferry during the 1st quarter worth approximately $815,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Korn Ferry during the second quarter worth approximately $1,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.82% of the company’s stock.

Korn Ferry Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KFY opened at $74.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70. Korn Ferry has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $76.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 1.54.

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $682.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.84 million. Korn Ferry had a net margin of 6.68% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Korn Ferry will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Korn Ferry Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. Korn Ferry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert P. Rozek sold 20,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $1,580,163.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 154,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,672,028.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KFY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Korn Ferry in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Korn Ferry from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Korn Ferry from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Korn Ferry from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Korn Ferry Profile

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.