Block (NYSE:XYZ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at KeyCorp

Key Points

• Block's stock rating has been upgraded to strong-buy by KeyCorp, reflecting positive outlook from investment analysts.
• Other firms have also revised their target prices upwards; for example, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised it from $75.00 to $95.00.
• The company's shares recently traded down by 1.7%, reaching $76.43, with a current market capitalization of $46.59 billion.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on XYZ. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Block from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Block from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Block from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.85.

Block Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE XYZ traded down $1.30 on Tuesday, reaching $76.43. 1,966,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,127,765. Block has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.34 and a 200 day moving average of $67.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 2.71.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during 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 7.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $264,178.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,311,918.40. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total value of $417,181.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 289,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,341,350.24. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 123,041 shares of company stock worth $9,355,075. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $26,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Block during the third quarter worth $27,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $30,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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