H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HRB. StockNews.com upgraded H&R Block from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th.

H&R Block Price Performance

H&R Block stock opened at $47.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.70. H&R Block has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $52.90.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.37) EPS. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that H&R Block will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total value of $4,228,172.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 755,359 shares in the company, valued at $37,171,216.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,218 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 2.9% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 12.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in H&R Block by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arnhold LLC acquired a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.