Affinity Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,555 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in H&R Block by 25.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in H&R Block by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,152,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 262.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 25,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $61.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.20 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.77. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Profile

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.