Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: KornFerry, Kforce, Robert Half International, and Cross Country Healthcare

By Judith D. Perez Last updated Dec 14, 2021

For immediate publication

Chicago, IL – December 14, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured on the Analyst Blog. Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest news and events that affect stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured on the blog include: KornFerry International KFY, Kforce Inc. KFRC, Robert Half International Inc. RHI, and Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. CCRN.

Here are the highlights from Monday’s analyst blog:

4 people stocks you should buy in a challenging industry

Job vacancies are at a record high, but companies are struggling to recruit new employees. With the economy reopening, industries are functioning at optimal levels again, opening up millions of jobs. Employee hiring has been a problem lately, although it recovered in October.

Given the demand for labor, companies will look to recruiting firms to do large-scale hiring. Companies like Korn Ferry, Kforce, Robert Half International and Cross Country Healthcare in the near future.

Increase in job vacancies

The Ministry of Labor announced on December 8 that the number of job vacancies had increased in October. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or the ministry’s JOLTS report, job vacancies rose by a whopping 431,000 to 11 million in October. This exceeded economists’ expectations of 10.4 million and is the second highest on record.

The maximum job vacancies are now in the hospitality and food service industries, where job vacancies have increased by 254,000.

In addition, 45,000 jobs were created in the consumer goods industry, while the number of vacancies in the educational services sector increased by 42,000. Overall, the vacancy rate in October rose from 6.7% in the previous month to 6.9%. What worries employers, however, is the decline in recruitment as they struggle to find new workers.

Struggle with attitude

Jolts’ report said the number of job vacancies in state and local governments fell by 115,000 in October, excluding education. The United States added a meager 210,000 jobs in November, although the hiring had increased the previous month.

The largest number of new jobs were in the professional, business services and transportation sectors, but other sectors struggled to find new jobs. Now that millions have been vaccinated, people are more confident. This has resulted in employers increasing hiring, but somehow there is an acute shortage of workers.

Employment levels had reached their highest pre-pandemic level. Then millions of jobs were lost to the COVID-19 outbreak and others were given leave. This labor shortage continues even though the unemployment rate has fallen back to a low.

The Department of Labor said on Dec. 9 that the unemployment rate hit a 52-year low, with unemployment claims falling by 43,000 to 184,000 last week. This, along with record high job vacancies, has brought recruitment agencies into the spotlight.

Our selection

In this situation, there is an ideal opportunity to invest in employee shares. We have handpicked four such sticks that have a Zacks rank of # 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

KornFerry International is the world’s leading and largest recruiting company with the broadest global presence in the recruiting industry. KFY offers executive recruiting services exclusively on the basis of mandates and serves the global recruiting needs of our customers from middle to upper management. KornFerry customers include many of the world’s largest public and private corporations, medium-sized and emerging growth companies, and government and nonprofits.

KornFerry’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is in excess of 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year improved 13.5% in the last 60 days. The KFY share has gained 6.7% in the last three months. KornFerry has a Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy). You can see The full list of current Zacks # 1 ranked stocks can be found here.

Robert Half International Inc. is one of the world’s largest providers of professional consulting and personnel services. The specialized HR departments at RHI include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources – for temporary, full-time and senior-level project professionals. Robert Half International is active in HR and consulting in more than 400 locations around the world.

Robert Half International’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 95.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year improved 5.4% over the past 60 days. The RHI share has gained 6.7% in the last three months. Robert Half International is ranked # 1 in Zacks.

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. is a national leader in providing innovative personal solutions and services in the healthcare sector. CCRN’s diverse customer base includes both clinical and non-clinical facilities serving acute care hospitals, medical practice groups, outpatient and outpatient care centers, nursing homes, public schools and charter schools, rehabilitation and sports medicine clinics, government institutions, and home care. Cross Country Healthcare is able to place clinicians for travel and daily allowance assignments, local short-term contracts and permanent positions.

Cross Country Healthcare’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is greater than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year improved 73.6% over the past 60 days. Cross Country Healthcare is ranked # 2 (Buy) in Zacks.

Kforce is a web-based full-service company for specialized recruitment. KFRC provides flexible and permanent human resource solutions for organizations and career management for individuals in the specialty areas of information technology, finance and accounting, human resources, engineering, pharmacy, healthcare, law, e-solutions consulting, science as well as insurance and investment. KForce’s online portal, kforce.com, offers web-based services including online resumes and job postings, interactive interviews, and job placement and career management strategies.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 35.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 10.3% in the last 60 days. KFRC’s shares are up 22.4% over the past three months. Kforce has a # 1 Zacks rank.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. It does not make any recommendation or advice as to whether an investment is suitable for any particular investor . Investments in any security, company, sector, or market identified and described should not be assumed to have been or will be profitable. All information is current at the time of publication and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the company as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in any investment banking, market making, or asset management activities in any securities. These returns come from hypothetical portfolios made up of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that have been rebalanced monthly with no transaction costs. These are not the returns on actual stock portfolios. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information on the performance metrics displayed in this press release.

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KornFerry International (KFY): Free Stock Research Report

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Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN): Free Stock Research Report

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