H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $60.35, but opened at $58.34. H&R Block shares last traded at $55.22, with a volume of 354,395 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Trading Up 2.1 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.05) EPS. Equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 606.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.