H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Research Coverage Started at Stephens

Stephens started coverage on shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on HRB. Zacks Research upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded H&R Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H&R Block presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

H&R Block Stock Down 6.1%

H&R Block stock opened at $44.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.52. H&R Block has a twelve month low of $28.16 and a twelve month high of $55.95. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.36.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 211.62% and a net margin of 18.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that H&R Block will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,285,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,763,000 after purchasing an additional 191,608 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,886,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,542,000 after purchasing an additional 652,690 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 50.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,761,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,377,000 after buying an additional 1,269,064 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,402,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,998,000 after buying an additional 809,438 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in H&R Block by 10.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,750,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,088,000 after buying an additional 269,581 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.