Block (NYSE:XYZ) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on XYZ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.83.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ opened at $83.07 on Thursday. Block has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.68 and its 200 day moving average is $75.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.67, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XYZ. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Block by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.