H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

NYSE:HRB opened at $53.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.68. 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 has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block has a twelve month low of $44.81 and a twelve month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly 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 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 47,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 28,082 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $4,203,000. Kendall Capital Management increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 52,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 87,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.