Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.23.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on XYZ shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $68.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 38.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 5.24%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Block by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,923,000 after buying an additional 133,002 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Block by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $147,846,000 after buying an additional 45,472 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Block by 770.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after buying an additional 1,538,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

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.