Head-To-Head Survey: H&R Block (HRB) vs. The Competition

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) is one of 166 public companies in the “Diversified Consumer Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare H&R Block to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares H&R Block and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
H&R Block	$3.95 billion	$733.60 million	9.73
H&R Block Competitors	$3.24 billion	$219.82 million	11.49

H&R Block has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. H&R Block is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

H&R Block has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H&R Block’s competitors have a beta of 0.50, suggesting that their average share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for H&R Block and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H&R Block	1	3	1	0	2.00
H&R Block Competitors	1441	3445	5284	197	2.41

H&R Block presently has a consensus price target of $46.67, suggesting a potential downside of 16.12%. As a group, “Diversified Consumer Services” companies have a potential upside of 59.59%. Given H&R Block’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe H&R Block has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.1% of H&R Block shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of H&R Block shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares H&R Block and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H&R Block	18.59%	-214.84%	22.56%
H&R Block Competitors	-3.34%	-28.46%	2.40%

Dividends

H&R Block pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. H&R Block pays out 32.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Diversified Consumer Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.8% and pay out 36.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. H&R Block has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Summary

H&R Block competitors beat H&R Block on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc. engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.