Caxton Associates LLP Makes New $2.09 Million Investment in H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP made a new investment of approximately $2.09 million in H&R Block, acquiring 37,972 shares of the company in the first quarter.
• The recent analyst reports reflect mixed sentiments, with Zacks downgrading H&R Block from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating and Goldman Sachs reducing their target price to $48.00 with a "sell" rating.
• H&R Block has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.42 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of 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 institutional investor bought 37,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,085,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRB. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 8,312 shares of the company's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 331,502 shares of the company's stock worth $17,526,000 after buying an additional 106,685 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 914,884 shares of the company's stock worth $48,342,000 after buying an additional 429,101 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,099 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,987,000 after buying an additional 4,313 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barrington Research decreased their price objective on H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.00.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $51.96 on Tuesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.00 and a 12 month high of $64.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.11% and a negative return on equity of 191.38%. H&R Block's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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