Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, twenty-three have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on XYZ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Block from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Truist Financial set a $72.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at $17,393,858.72. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,730,489,000. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth approximately $702,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $627,233,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,305,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $54.54 on Friday. Block has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $82.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.30 and its 200 day moving average is $68.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.