Block (NYSE:XYZ) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.25 and last traded at $52.68, with a volume of 993095 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.11.

Block Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total transaction of $177,255.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,281,531.52. This represents a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,967 shares of company stock worth $1,649,113. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Block by 67.7% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in Block by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Block by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Block by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 92.3% in the fourth quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.