H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Short Interest Update

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,000,000 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the September 30th total of 8,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.3 days. Approximately 8.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.70. The stock had a trading volume of 968,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,016. H&R Block has a one year low of $39.20 and a one year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.30.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth $1,240,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in H&R Block by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth $4,202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Company Profile

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.