Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.9143.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on XYZ shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $72.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 20,352 shares of company stock worth $1,165,720 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $56.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The company had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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.