Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Receives $82.14 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.9143.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on XYZ shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial raised Block to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Block by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $59.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Block has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $82.50. The firm has a market cap of $35.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.65.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.