Short Interest in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Grows By 9.7%

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,730,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the January 15th total of 12,520,000 shares. Approximately 10.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.5 %

HRB traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.62. 1,219,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,457. The stock has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block has a twelve month low of $45.64 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.73.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. Equities analysts expect that H&R Block will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.