GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $1.16 Million Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HRB opened at $59.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.27. 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 cap of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 46.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Company 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.