Centiva Capital LP Buys 19,839 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Centiva Capital LP raised its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 147.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,839 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.11 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.06. The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.