H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Stock Price Up 22% Following Earnings Beat

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) traded up 22% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $35.94 and last traded at $35.7630. 1,066,661 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 2,391,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.32.

The company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 176.02% and a net margin of 16.19%.H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.20 EPS.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 38.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of H&R Block from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of H&R Block from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 134.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in H&R Block by 208.0% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Trading Up 22.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.45.

About H&R Block

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.