Key Points
- H&R Block stock is down despite posting better-than-expected earnings results and increasing its guidance.
- The pullback reflects a similar move in August 2022 that took the stock below $40 a share.
- The company is evolving and committed to shareholder value, making the stock an attractive buy on the dip.
- 5 stocks we like better than H&R Block
Shares of H&R Block Inc. NYSE: HRB stock are down 9% the morning after it released its second quarter 2024 earnings. The company posted negative earnings per share of $1.27 on revenue of $179.10 million.
Analysts and investors were expecting negative earnings. Tax preparation is a cyclical business, and the second quarter has historically been the company's weakest quarter. However, the loss was better than expected, and the revenue was slightly higher than analysts' forecasts. In addition to that, both numbers were higher than in the same quarter in 2023.
But after climbing 19% in the last 12 months, HRB stock was more than priced for perfection. The stock was trading at a valuation higher than its historical average and looking slightly overvalued among finance stocks. And while its results were not poor, they gave investors enough cover to sell the stock. The good news is that the dip in HRB stock will look more attractive as the company enters its two strongest quarters.
One reason to believe HRB stock is setting up as a buyable dip is that the company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance. That puts revenue at a level between $3.53 and $3.58 billion. It also is forecasting EPS between $4.10 and $4.30.
The company is evolving
HRB stock is up 19% in the last 12 months. There were a couple of catalysts for this growth. First, the company launched a mobile banking service to help offset the cyclical nature of tax preparation. Second, the company is seeing strong growth in its small business accounting service.
Heading into this tax season, H&R Block is touting the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help customers with tax preparation. With these tools, customers can do their taxes with assistance, without assistance, or in some hybrid fashion.
HRB stock is a deep value pick for investors
H&R Block is a good pick for deep value investors. It's a shareholder-friendly company that has returned $3.8 billion to shareholders since 2016.
In the last quarter, the company bought back 4.8 million shares for $218.1 million. The company also has authorization to buy back an additional $1.25 billion in shares through 2025.
H&R Block also pays a dividend that currently has a 2.96% yield. The dividend has a safe payout ratio of about 34%. With revenue and earnings expected to continue to grow, the 3-year growth in the dividend will likely continue, probably in the company's fiscal fourth quarter.
You can buy HRB stock on the dip
H&R Block reached $47 per share once before in August 2022. After that, the stock fell below $30 in May 2023. But since then, the stock has rallied nicely.
After the company's earnings report, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. NYSE: GS quickly reiterated its Sell rating on HRB stock. However, in doing so, the firm raised its price target from $34 to $38.
When the stock was trading at $47 a share heading into earnings, that would have seemed like a tough buy. But with the post-earnings dip, the stock is trading slightly below the consensus target of the H&R Block analyst ratings on MarketBeat.
The post-earnings dip has pushed HRB stock below its 50-day simple moving average. It also broke below a support level at around $45.50. From here, investors should look at a support level at about $41.
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