Seaport Res Ptn Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Block in a research note issued on Monday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Cantwell now forecasts that the technology company will earn ($0.05) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($0.06). Seaport Res Ptn currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Block’s current full-year earnings is $1.02 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Block’s Q2 2024 earnings at ($0.06) EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.07 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.63 EPS.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SQ. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.41.

Block Price Performance

Block stock opened at $72.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 430.23, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Block has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.68 and its 200-day moving average is $65.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Decatur Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 11.1% in the first quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,783 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $387,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 31.3% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,320 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $516,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

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.