H&R Block (HRB) PT Cut to $38 at Wedbush Post Q3; 'Outperform' Maintained

Wedbush analyst Gil Luria trimmed his price target on H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) to $38.00 (from $40.00) following Q3 results but maintained an Outperform rating on the stock.

Luria noted, "Better-than-expected FQ3 LPS benefiting from early tax season. Revenue of $509 million missed consensus of $518 million as overall filing growth declined (4.2)% despite earlier start to the tax season. However non-GAAP LPS of $(0.13) beat consensus of $(0.17).

He added, "We believe assisted filing decline impacted by broad competitor promotions, shift to the end of tax season, fraud migration and ACA delays. Overall filings declined (4.2)% through February 28th with assisted declining (8.7)%, lower than IRS season-to-date filing growth of (1.0)% and (4.4)%, respectively. We expect some of these declines were a result of expanded early season true free promotions from TurboTax accelerating the shift from assisted to digital."

The firm is lowering FY15 estimate to $1.72 from $1.82 based on declining assisted volumes and less franchisee acquisitions.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on H&R Block click here. For more ratings news on H&R Block click here.

Shares of H&R Block closed at $33.42 yesterday.

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