Stephens Initiates Coverage on H&R Block (NYSE:HRB)

Research analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.07% from the stock’s previous close.

HRB has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded H&R Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, H&R Block has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

H&R Block Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE:HRB opened at $42.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.36. H&R Block has a 52 week low of $28.16 and a 52 week high of $55.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.49 and a 200 day moving average of $35.49.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.77 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 18.90% and a negative return on equity of 211.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.38 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that H&R Block will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 85.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in H&R Block by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in H&R Block by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 848,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,593,000 after acquiring an additional 112,127 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in H&R Block by 100.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 119.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About H&R Block

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is a leading provider of tax preparation services and software solutions, serving individual and small-business clients through a combination of retail offices, online platforms and mobile applications. The company offers assisted tax preparation at its network of retail offices, where clients work with trained tax professionals, as well as do-it-yourself (DIY) software and online filing services designed to guide users through the complexities of federal and state tax returns.

Founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W.