H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Barrington Research

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Barrington Research in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.74% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

H&R Block Price Performance

NYSE:HRB traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 668,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,331. H&R Block has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $52.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.76 and its 200-day moving average is $46.52.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.31. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.98% and a negative return on equity of 227.22%. The firm had revenue of $179.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.37) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total value of $4,228,172.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 755,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,171,216.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in H&R Block by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 5,218 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 12.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 126,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,438,000 after buying an additional 13,839 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 5.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Finally, Arnhold LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth approximately $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

About H&R Block

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.