H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Given Outperform Rating at Barrington Research

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Barrington Research in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research's price target points to a potential upside of 18.28% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded down $4.18 on Friday, hitting $59.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,518,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,522. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.83. H&R Block has a 1 year low of $41.98 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. H&R Block's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,626,820. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRB. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,045,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides assisted income tax return preparation and do-it-yourself (DIY) tax return preparation services and products to the general public primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or its franchisees.

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