Ahead Of The Bell: Staffing Sector

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An analyst upgraded staffing company MPS Group Inc., saying it should experience stronger earnings growth than Robert Half International Inc., which he downgraded.

Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Ginocchio upgraded MPS Group to "Buy" from "Hold" and downgraded Robert Half International to "Sell" from "Hold."

He increased his price target for MPI Group to $12 from $10 and left unchanged his price target for Robert Half International at $21.

Ginocchio left unchanged his earnings estimates for the two companies. He expects MPS Group to earn 8 cents per share this year and 10 cents per share next year.

He estimates Robert Half International will earn 20 cents per share for 2009 and 23 cents per share for next year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect MPS Group to earn 10 cents per share this year and 18 cents per share for 2010. For Robert Half International, analysts expect 17 cents per share this year and 36 cents per share for 2010, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.