Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $100.00 to $87.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 4.73% from the company’s current price.

XYZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.40.

Block Price Performance

NYSE XYZ opened at $83.07 on Friday. Block has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. Research analysts predict that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at about $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Block by 770.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares in the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,255,000. Azora Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Block by 358.4% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 503,402 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,793,000 after buying an additional 393,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,445,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.