Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Block, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 35 analysts, with 24 issuing buy ratings and three rating the stock as a sell.
• The average 12-month price target among analysts is $78.33, while the stock recently opened at $73.38 and has a market cap of $45.13 billion.
• Despite beating earnings estimates with $0.62 EPS, the company reported a 1.6% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.3333.

Several research analysts recently commented on XYZ shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Block in a report on Sunday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Block from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Block from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Block from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Block from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th.

Block Stock Down 4.5%

Block stock opened at $73.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 2.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,342 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.26, for a total transaction of $92,946.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 590,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,883,277.62. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 108,236 shares in the company, valued at $8,658,880. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,038 shares of company stock valued at $6,184,911. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.

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