Continue reading Call Volume Soars Ahead of Earnings from H&R Block

Call Volume Soars Ahead of Earnings from H&R Block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been brutal for H&R Block (HRB). Its stock has gone from $23 to $12.50 a share over the past year. But in the latest earnings report, there was some hopeful news for shareholders. In fact, H&R Block's shares were up 8% following the report. However, there are still challenges for the company and its probably better to look at the stock early next year, at the start of the new tax season.

In the fiscal first quarter, H&R Block posted a loss of $130.7 million, or $0.41 per share. Of course, the shortfall is normal because of the seasonality in the business.

Continue reading H&R Block Rallies Following Q1 Report

H&R Block Rallies Following Q1 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H&R Block (HRB) was in focus Tuesday morning, thanks to an SEC filing Monday that revealed Soros Fund Management boosted its stake in the tax preparer during the second quarter. The equity has inched moderately higher Tuesday morning, but option volume has soared well beyond HRB's usual levels. Within the first hour of trading, put volume surged to roughly 26 times the norm, with about 4,300 contracts changing hands.

HRB's January 2011 11-strike put was most active, with 4,140 contracts trading within the first hour of the session. About 97% of these puts changed hands at the ask price, implying they were purchased, and implied volatility on this out-of-the-money option rose 2.9 percentage points. With just 339 contracts in open interest at the January 11 put, it's a safe bet that new positions are being opened.

Continue reading Put Volume Spikes on H&R Block

Put Volume Spikes on H&R Block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform. The firm is more confident about the company's earnings growth going forward.
• Oppenheimer upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to outperform from perform on expectations the company will improve performance in 2011. The firm has a $22 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded SunTrust (STI) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and expectations the company's credit will improve. The firm raised its target for shares to $34 from $29.
• Children's Place (PLCE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Taubman Centers (TCO) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Cavium Networks (CAVM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM

Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading H&R Block Taxes Investors

H&R Block Taxes Investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H&R Block (HRB) is ready to tackle its 55th tax season. However, the company realizes that it needs to rejuvenate things, as its brand has become outmoded and growth has slowed.

This week, the company posted its latest quarterly report, which showed a 7.2% decrease in revenues to $326.1 million and a loss of $128.6 million, or $0.38 per share. Because of the seasonality of the tax business, the second half of the year typically has losses.

Continue reading H&R Block wants an extreme makeover

H&R Block wants an extreme makeover originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings due to higher enrollments.
• Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) expected earnings growth resulted in an upgrade from one analyst.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) shares soared after Q1 earnings topped analysts' expectations.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) profit doubled in Q4, beating estimates, and annual sales also rose.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) reported earnings growth for the fiscal year but essentially flat revenues.
• Schnitzer Steel industries Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) surprised analysts with a Q3 loss, sending shares lower.
• Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ) Q2 earnings fell short of expectations and revenues declined due to the recession.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: General Mills, Apollo Group, H&R Block, Sealy ...

Earnings highlights: General Mills, Apollo Group, H&R Block, Sealy ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $15.38. HRB is expected to report Q4 EPS on June 29. HRB July option implied volatility of 42 is below its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) closed at $54.72. GIS is scheduled to report EPS Q4 on July 1. GIS pre-announced EPS on June 8. GIS June option implied volatility of 25 is near its 26-week average of 27, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: H&R Block volatility low into EPS and retail outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $15.86. HRB May option implied volatility is at 53, July is at 51; below its 26-week average of 56, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) closed at $25.39. INTU May option implied volatility is at 41; July is at 42; below its 26-week average of 49, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: H&R Block and Intuit volatility low into April 15 deadline originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX) has approximately 6,800 offices. JTX closed at $8.24. JTX is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on March 3. JTX March and April option implied volatility of 79 is above its 26-week average of 58, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed at $20.14 HRB is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on March 6. HRB March option implied volatility is at 64, April is at 55 above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement into EPS.

Continue reading Options Update: Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block volatility up into EPS & tax season

Options Update: Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block volatility up into EPS & tax season originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tax specialist H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), whose colleagues include Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX), prepared its Q2 earnings report for investors on Monday after the exchanges had closed. According to this article, the company met expectations for the bottom line. H&R Block saw a net loss of $0.40 per share from continuing operations. That was an improvement of two cents when compared to Q2 2007.

While the bottom line met expectations, the top line came in below what Wall Street was hoping for. The call was for a little over $397 million in sales revenue. H&R Block actually delivered $351.5 million. So, when you add it all together, you come up with something of a lukewarm quarter, in my opinion.

But you have to remember something about this business: tax season is coming up. So, even though we're talking about a loss right now, we should be talking about a profit once the fiscal year concludes. In fact, analysts are calling for H&R Block to earn around $1.63 per share. Management believes that somewhere between $1.60 and $1.70 per share is conceivable. That leaves room for a beat. And, at the stock's current price, H&R Block may be cheap.

Continue reading H&R Block meets expectations: Is it worth a look?

H&R Block meets expectations: Is it worth a look? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) is recently down 10 cents to $17.07. JTX is scheduled to report Q1 EPS on September 4. Soleil Group says: "We believe there are too many uncertainties to be aggressive one way or the other; we are maintaining our Hold rating." JTX September option implied volatility of 50 is below its 26-week average of 55 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is recently up 24 cents to $25.23. Soleil Group has a Buy rating and price target of $28 on HRB. HRB September option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX down 27c to 19.48; 10-day moving average is 20.24

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block volatility flat into earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), whose colleagues include Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX), reported Q4 and full-year earnings on Monday. The numbers looked pretty good to me. For Q4, revenues increased 11% to $2.6 billion and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations increased 17% to $2.11. According to this article, analysts' expectations were beat by $0.08. For the full year, the top line expanded by 10%, coming in at $4.4 billion. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations jumped 21% to $1.39.

The tax specialist said it worked with 23.5 million clients, the most ever in its corporate history. That's a nice indication of health for the company, I suppose, but here's a better one. The board decided to juice the dividend. The annual payment will now be $0.60 per share, translating to a 5% increase. Okay, 5% isn't too exciting, I'll grant you, but H&R Block has now increased its payments to shareholders every year for over a decade.

But, as the company stated in its release, although it intends on repurchasing shares over the next few years, it will remain "particularly disciplined" about the subject in the next fiscal year. Essentially, that means shareholders should not expect a lot of share repurchases for a while. H&R Block is reacting to the fact that it is still rebooting itself after being victimized by the subprime mortgage crisis. I'd rather hear a more aggressive stance in terms of buyback plans, but I'd say there is prudent motive in such posture given the company's state.

Continue reading H&R Block rocks expectations for its fourth quarter

H&R Block rocks expectations for its fourth quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) is recently down $1.63 to $36.04. MER call option volume of 10,479 contracts compares to put volume of 69,715 contracts. MER July option implied volatility of 77 is above its 26-week average of 51 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) is recently down 46 cents to $22.66. HRB is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on June 30. HRB July 20 puts have traded 27 times on transaction volume of 10,492 contracts, above its open interest of 3,670 contracts. HRB July option implied volatility of 47 is above its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Merrill Lynch put volume & volatility up; shares near five-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nothing pretty about H&R Block's earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.