Qsemble Capital Management LP Takes Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 9,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at $995,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in H&R Block by 113.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $1,928,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in H&R Block by 32.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 285,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,136,000 after buying an additional 69,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 413.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 72,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after buying an additional 58,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE HRB opened at $59.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.10 and its 200 day moving average is $57.89.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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.