Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Kforce Inc. $KFRC

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 42,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kforce by 427.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Kforce by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kforce by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Kforce by 273.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kforce Stock Performance

Kforce stock opened at $56.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Kforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.49 and a 12-month high of $61.68.

Kforce (NASDAQ:KFRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The business services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $349.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.11 million. Kforce had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 30.34%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Kforce has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.790 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kforce Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Kforce’s dividend payout ratio is 75.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $59.00 price target on shares of Kforce in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Kforce from $42.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair upgraded shares of Kforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Kforce from $38.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Kforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kforce presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

About Kforce

Kforce Inc is a professional staffing services firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol KFRC. The company specializes in connecting organizations with skilled talent in technology, finance and accounting, and related business functions. Through a nationwide network of offices, Kforce partners with clients across industries to deliver both flexible contract staffing and direct hire placement solutions.

Kforce’s core offerings include temporary staffing, permanent placement, and project-based consulting engagements.