H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) to Issue $0.38 Quarterly Dividend

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share on Monday, January 6th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th.

H&R Block has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.5% annually over the last three years. H&R Block has a dividend payout ratio of 28.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect H&R Block to earn $5.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.6%.

H&R Block Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE HRB traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.39. 1,648,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,127,062. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. H&R Block has a one year low of $39.20 and a one year high of $68.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.78.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that H&R Block will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides assisted income tax return preparation and do-it-yourself (DIY) tax return preparation services and products to the general public primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or its franchisees.