New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC Boosts Stake in H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC significantly increased its stake in H&R Block by purchasing 609,938 shares, totaling 621,252 shares held, which now accounts for 0.2% of its investment portfolio.
• H&R Block's recent earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $2.27, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81, despite a 4.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.11 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.42 per share, reflecting a boosted annualized dividend to $1.68, with a current dividend yield of 3.3%.

New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 5,391.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 621,252 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 609,938 shares during the period. H&R Block comprises approximately 0.2% of New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC owned approximately 0.46% of H&R Block worth $34,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 666 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 72.1% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 513 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,767 shares of the company's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,356 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HRB traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $51.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,837,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,307,979. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $64.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.69 and a 200-day moving average of $55.46.

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

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is currently 37.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

H&R Block 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.