Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 34,079 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in H&R Block by 139.3% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 34,079 shares, bringing its total to 58,536 shares worth $3.21 million.
• H&R Block reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, beating estimates, with revenue also increasing by 4.2% year-over-year to $2.28 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on H&R Block, with Goldman Sachs issuing a "sell" rating, while Barrington Research maintains an "outperform" rating with a price target of $70.00.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 139.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,536 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,079 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in H&R Block were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 3,142.9% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP lifted its position in H&R Block by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 98,621 shares of the company's stock worth $5,415,000 after buying an additional 19,074 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 6,096 shares of the company's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in H&R Block by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in H&R Block by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,667,652 shares of the company's stock worth $91,571,000 after buying an additional 209,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Northcoast Research cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of HRB traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.36. 1,011,289 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 927,028. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.16 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.76.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.57% and a net margin of 15.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About H&R Block

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.