Brokers Issue Forecasts for Block, Inc.'s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair lifted their FY2024 EPS estimates for Block in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 3rd. William Blair analyst A. Jeffrey now anticipates that the technology company will post earnings of $1.68 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.67. William Blair has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Block's current full-year earnings is $1.72 per share.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.52.

Block Price Performance

NYSE SQ traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $64.08. 4,016,146 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,564,521. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.30 and a 200-day moving average of $69.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a PE ratio of 83.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Block news, Director Roelof Botha purchased 434,405 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 434,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,007.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $121,594.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,027,285.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Block by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.4% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.