What Happened?
Shares of professional staffing firm Kforce (NYSE: KFRC) fell 11.3% in the morning session after the company issued a disappointing third-quarter forecast that overshadowed its second-quarter results. While the company’s second-quarter earnings of $0.59 per share met analyst expectations on revenue of $334.3 million, its outlook for the upcoming quarter concerned investors. Kforce projected third-quarter revenue in the range of $324 million to $332 million, which fell below the consensus estimate of $335.2 million. Similarly, its earnings per share guidance of $0.53 to $0.61 also fell short of the anticipated $0.61. Management attributed the weaker outlook to unanticipated project completions at the end of the second quarter. In response to the news, a Truist analyst reduced the price target on the stock to $46 from $50, citing a challenging environment.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Kforce’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Kforce and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
Kforce is down 30% since the beginning of the year, and at $38.79 per share, it is trading 44.8% below its 52-week high of $70.22 from July 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Kforce’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,337.
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