Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) shares jumped by nearly 4% in the morning session today after the organizational consulting services provider delivered a better-than-expected performance for the second quarter and announced a major dividend hike.
Despite a 3.2% year-over-year decline, revenue of $712.4 million exceeded estimates by $25.1 million. EPS of $0.97 outpaced expectations by $0.02. The quarter was marked by fee revenue growth across Consulting and Digital verticals. Further, new business wins in RPO came in strong at $141 million.
In addition, declines in permanent placement talent acquisition offerings were partially offset by gains in Professional search, Consulting, and Digital. Looking ahead to the third quarter, KFY expects fee revenue to be in the range of $645 million to $665 million. EPS for the quarter is seen landing between $0.96 and $1.02.
Despite challenging economic conditions, KFY has raised its quarterly dividend by 83% to $0.33 per share. The KFY dividend is payable on January 12, 2024, to investors of record on December 21, 2023. KFY has been consistently doling out dividends for quite some time and has a payout ratio of about 15%.
Is Korn Ferry a Good Stock?
Overall, the Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Korn Ferry. Following a nearly 12% rise in the company’s share price over the past month, the average KFY price target of $57 implies a modest 6.8% potential upside in the stock.
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