H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,530,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 9,050,000 shares. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,902 shares of company stock worth $9,455,162 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,081,000 after acquiring an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in H&R Block by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,726,000 after purchasing an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after purchasing an additional 606,250 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $64.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. H&R Block has a 52-week low of $39.20 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that H&R Block will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.33%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.