Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Receives $98.10 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.14.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $109.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

Block Stock Down 17.7 %

XYZ opened at $68.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Equities analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Block by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,154 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 5,929 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth $3,775,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in Block by 18,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 7,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 7,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nepsis Inc. acquired a new position in Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,769,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Block

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.