Short Interest in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Declines By 7.4%

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,190,000 shares, a drop of 7.4% from the October 15th total of 11,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.2 days. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.2% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.2% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.4% in the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Price Performance

H&R Block stock opened at $60.08 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted ($1.05) EPS. Equities analysts predict that H&R Block will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.