We maintain our Sell rating for H&R Block (HRB). The company has signed an agreement to sell the Option One mortgage servicing business, however HRB does not anticipate that the deal will cause any significant impact on its reported income. Additionally, several conditions must be met before the deal successfully closes.
Further, the uncertainty regarding the failure to meet the minimum adjusted tangible capital required by the OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision] remains an area of particular concern. Until the picture regarding these issues becomes clearer, we would not recommend that investors initiate new positions in shares of HRB. Given the significant number of uncertainties that continue to surround the company, we do not believe that significant near-term stock price appreciation is warranted.
Over the last five years, the shares of H&R Block have traded within a range of 10x and 20x forward twelve-month earnings. While we view the termination of mortgage originations as a long-term positive, we expect that the stock should trade nearer the lower half of this historical multiple range. Currently, the shares trade at approximately 13.8x our 2008 EPS estimate.
Read the full analyst report on HRB.
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