Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.54.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Block from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Block from $86.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Block from $94.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Block from $108.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock.

Block Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $50.34 on Friday. Block has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.37. The company has a market capitalization of $31.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.83.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. On average, equities analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $446,180.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 235,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,585,253.28. This represents a 2.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,467 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $103,159.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 82,499 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,329.68. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,324 shares of company stock valued at $1,297,662 over the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Block by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Block by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Block by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Block in the 4th quarter worth about $1,129,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.