Block (NYSE:XYZ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Block (NYSE:XYZ) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11), Zacks reports. Block had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 4.73%.

Block Trading Down 1.0 %

XYZ traded down $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.07. 11,976,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,908,623. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.68 and its 200 day moving average is $75.13. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on XYZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.83.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total transaction of $177,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at $7,281,531.52. This represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Block Company Profile

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.