Block (NYSE:XYZ) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $54.83 and last traded at $54.85, with a volume of 6303930 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.62.

Block Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $33.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total value of $177,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,281,531.52. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at $17,469,231.62. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,967 shares of company stock valued at $1,649,113 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 64.7% during the 3rd 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 position in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $74,000. 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.