Short Interest in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Decreases By 7.8%

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,790,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the August 31st total of 9,530,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.7 %

HRB traded down $0.47 on Tuesday, hitting $63.08. The company had a trading volume of 996,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,032. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.35. H&R Block has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that H&R Block will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.