H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $60.35, but opened at $58.34. H&R Block shares last traded at $55.22, with a volume of 354,395 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.05) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted 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. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.