H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Disappointing Earnings

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $47.78 and last traded at $47.35, with a volume of 785445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.50.

The company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 134.63% and a net margin of 16.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Northcoast Research cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barrington Research cut their target price on H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in H&R Block by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,448,000 after acquiring an additional 523,353 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,849,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 150,184 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in H&R Block by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,608,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,233,000 after acquiring an additional 263,274 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,585,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,591,000 after acquiring an additional 695,581 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in H&R Block by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,335,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,395,000 after acquiring an additional 30,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.75. The company has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.24.

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.