H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Receives "Outperform" Rating from Barrington Research

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Barrington Research in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.12% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $59.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 713,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,871. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.71 and a 200-day moving average of $56.17. H&R Block has a 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45.

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

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 25,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,626,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HRB. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,081,000 after acquiring an additional 558,076 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in H&R Block by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company's stock worth $134,726,000 after buying an additional 23,792 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company's stock worth $115,418,000 after buying an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

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.