H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Increases Dividend to $0.38 Per Share

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share on Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

H&R Block has increased its dividend by an average of 5.5% annually over the last three years. H&R Block has a dividend payout ratio of 28.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect H&R Block to earn $5.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.8%.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $63.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.10. H&R Block has a 52-week low of $38.70 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that H&R Block will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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 declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,180 shares of company stock valued at $8,841,995. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.