H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $38.61 and last traded at $39.08, with a volume of 1522278 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HRB. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

H&R Block Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.11.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($1.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.40) by $0.20. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.24% and a negative return on equity of 169.98%. The business had revenue of $203.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 176,449 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.46, for a total transaction of $8,197,820.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 906,313 shares in the company, valued at $42,107,301.98. This trade represents a 16.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the second quarter worth about $97,826,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 60.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,593,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,961,000 after purchasing an additional 976,069 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,886,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,542,000 after buying an additional 652,690 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 335.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 749,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,892,000 after purchasing an additional 577,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in H&R Block by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,990,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,653,000 after buying an additional 391,711 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.