H&R Block’s (HRB) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $70.00 price target on the stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock opened at $54.60 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.05) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,936,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,735,000 after purchasing an additional 255,354 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in H&R Block by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,527,000 after acquiring an additional 476,892 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 884,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,748,000 after acquiring an additional 107,450 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 3.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 754,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,935,000 after purchasing an additional 25,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 29.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 698,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,364,000 after purchasing an additional 156,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

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.