H&R Block (HRB) Competitors

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) and H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) are both specialized consumer services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk and volatility, HI or HRB?

Hillenbrand has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H&R Block has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HI or HRB a better dividend stock?

Hillenbrand pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. H&R Block pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hillenbrand pays out -23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. H&R Block pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hillenbrand has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years and H&R Block has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Hillenbrand is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in HI or HRB?

89.1% of Hillenbrand shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.1% of H&R Block shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Hillenbrand shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of H&R Block shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is HI or HRB more profitable?

H&R Block has a net margin of 15.20% compared to Hillenbrand's net margin of -8.82%. Hillenbrand's return on equity of 15.03% beat H&R Block's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hillenbrand	-8.82%	15.03%	4.19%
H&R Block	15.20%	-179.57%	20.56%

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, HI or HRB?

H&R Block has higher revenue and earnings than Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than H&R Block, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hillenbrand	$3.18B	0.50	-$211M	-$3.81	-5.91
H&R Block	$3.61B	2.07	$595.32M	$4.08	13.70

Do analysts rate HI or HRB?

Hillenbrand currently has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.06%. H&R Block has a consensus target price of $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.90%. Given Hillenbrand's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hillenbrand is more favorable than H&R Block.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hillenbrand	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
H&R Block	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to HI or HRB?

In the previous week, H&R Block had 3 more articles in the media than Hillenbrand. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for H&R Block and 3 mentions for Hillenbrand. H&R Block's average media sentiment score of 0.78 beat Hillenbrand's score of 0.72 indicating that H&R Block is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hillenbrand	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
H&R Block	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

H&R Block beats Hillenbrand on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.