Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

NYSE:HRB opened at $52.85 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.51 and its 200 day moving average is $58.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.69.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.05) EPS. Research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.