H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $54.43, but opened at $51.63. H&R Block shares last traded at $53.94, with a volume of 60,738 shares.

The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,080,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,095,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,897,000 after acquiring an additional 113,216 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 41,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 9,373 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 122.1% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 216,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,422,000 after acquiring an additional 118,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,684,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,022,000 after acquiring an additional 47,920 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.06 and a 200 day moving average of $58.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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.