Analysts Set H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Target Price at $49.00

Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HRB shares. Barrington Research decreased their target price on shares of H&R Block from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut H&R Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $32.00 target price on H&R Block in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 176,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.46, for a total value of $8,197,820.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 906,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,107,301.98. This trade represents a 16.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in H&R Block by 20.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,886,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,542,000 after acquiring an additional 652,690 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,213,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,490,000 after purchasing an additional 26,708 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $156,439,000 after purchasing an additional 150,184 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,750,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,088,000 after purchasing an additional 269,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 60.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,593,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,961,000 after buying an additional 976,069 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $32.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86. H&R Block has a 12 month low of $32.71 and a 12 month high of $64.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.35.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported ($1.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.96) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $198.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.36 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 176.02% and a net margin of 16.19%.H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.73) earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 38.80%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is a leading provider of tax preparation services and software solutions, serving individual and small-business clients through a combination of retail offices, online platforms and mobile applications. The company offers assisted tax preparation at its network of retail offices, where clients work with trained tax professionals, as well as do-it-yourself (DIY) software and online filing services designed to guide users through the complexities of federal and state tax returns.

Founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W.