H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Trading Up 9.2% – Here’s What Happened

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) shares rose 9.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.61 and last traded at $30.9470. Approximately 1,368,065 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 2,334,634 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HRB shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their target price on H&R Block from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $41.00.

H&R Block Stock Up 8.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.80 and its 200-day moving average is $46.71.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.80%.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 128,818 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $5,737,553.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 861,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,362,881.02. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in H&R Block by 85.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 848,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,593,000 after buying an additional 112,127 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 17,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 1.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.