H&R Block stock jumped Friday after the tax-prep company reported strong financial results, increased its dividend, and provided an outlook that exceeded analyst expectations.
The stock rocketed 17% to $67.26 in Friday morning trading, putting in on track for a new all-time high, based on available data since 1972. The gains also mark its biggest one-day percentage increase in more than two years, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Coming into the session, the stock has gained 19% this year.
H&R Block reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.89 a share on revenue of $1.06 billion after the stock market closed on Thursday. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting earnings of $1.74 a share on revenue of $1.03 billion. Management said on Thursday’s earnings call the company saw “meaningful growth in paid clients,” which helped revenue grow from the prior year.
“We continue to make progress, gain new insight, and translate this client success into value for shareholders, and are well positioned to build on this momentum in fiscal 2025 and beyond,” Chief Executive Jeff Jones said in the earnings release.
The company also announced a 17% increase in its quarterly dividend to 38 cents per share, and a new $1.5 billion share repurchase authorization.
“The tax industry’s FY24 [fiscal year 2024] season was better than originally expected,” Oppenheimer analyst Scott Schneeberger, who rates the stock as Perform without a price target, wrote in a note. Competition among tax-prep companies has been tight beyond just Intuit’s Turbo Tax. This past tax season, the Internal Revenue Service opened its own free online tax-prep pilot program, “Direct File,” which was available to taxpayers in 12 states.
But despite potential competitive headwinds, H&R Block said it expects fiscal 2025 earnings to be between $5.15 a share and $5.35 a share, which is higher than the FactSet consensus of $4.68 a share. Revenue is expected to be between $3.69 billion to $3.75 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $3.67 billion.
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Originally Posted August 16, 2024 – Why H&R Block Stock Is Spiking When Tax Day Is Still 8 Months Away
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