H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,730,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the January 15th total of 12,520,000 shares. Currently, 10.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Invst LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 18,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $2,689,000. CSS LLC IL grew its position in H&R Block by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 27,138 shares of the company's stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,690 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 822,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,454,000 after buying an additional 124,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 280.9% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,094 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 14,819 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE HRB traded down $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $52.42. 1,144,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,778. H&R Block has a 12 month low of $45.64 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.92 and a 200-day moving average of $58.43.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. As a group, analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 41.32%.

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.