H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $54.43, but opened at $51.63. H&R Block shares last traded at $53.94, with a volume of 60,738 shares traded.

The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRB. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 356.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,817,000 after buying an additional 69,347 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 262.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 25,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 18,148 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 79.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 29,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 12,941 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 8.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Trading Down 1.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.74 and a 200 day moving average of $58.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.73.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.