Maverick Capital Ltd. Takes Position in H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased 37,265 shares of H&R Block, Inc. valued at approximately $2,046,000 during the first quarter.
• H&R Block reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.27, missing estimates by $0.54, and had a revenue of $1.11 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share from $0.38, representing an annual yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 33.56%.

Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 37,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,046,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $306,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in H&R Block by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 110,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,844,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,769,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its holdings in H&R Block by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 33,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,787,000 after buying an additional 16,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research dropped their target price on shares of H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.13. 1,837,926 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,266,647. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.42. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week high of $64.90. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.26.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 191.38% and a net margin of 16.11%.The firm's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.58%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.