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

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.23.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie increased their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Block by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYZ opened at $68.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Block had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.