H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $52.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. H&R Block has a 12-month low of $45.64 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Company Profile

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.