Critical Analysis: H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) and Skillful Craftsman Education Technology (NASDAQ:EDTK)

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) and Skillful Craftsman Education Technology (NASDAQ:EDTK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for H&R Block and Skillful Craftsman Education Technology, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H&R Block	1	3	1	0	2.00
Skillful Craftsman Education Technology	1	0	0	0	1.00

H&R Block currently has a consensus price target of $43.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.76%. Given H&R Block’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe H&R Block is more favorable than Skillful Craftsman Education Technology.

Risk and Volatility

H&R Block has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skillful Craftsman Education Technology has a beta of -0.44, meaning that its share price is 144% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares H&R Block and Skillful Craftsman Education Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H&R Block	18.90%	-211.62%	22.70%
Skillful Craftsman Education Technology	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares H&R Block and Skillful Craftsman Education Technology”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
H&R Block	$3.76 billion	1.55	$605.77 million	$5.62	8.21
Skillful Craftsman Education Technology	$890,000.00	17.83	-$7.58 million	N/A	N/A

H&R Block has higher revenue and earnings than Skillful Craftsman Education Technology.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.1% of H&R Block shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.5% of Skillful Craftsman Education Technology shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of H&R Block shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.0% of Skillful Craftsman Education Technology shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

H&R Block beats Skillful Craftsman Education Technology on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

About Skillful Craftsman Education Technology

Skillful Craftsman Education Technology Limited provides vocational online education and technology services to college students and graduates in the People's Republic of China. The company's education services cover a range of subjects, including vocational, continuing, basic, and higher education. It operates three education platforms, including the Lifelong Education Public Service Platform that offers approximately 200 courses; Vocational Training platform, which provides 642 courses covering mechanics, electronics, auto repair, and construction subjects; and Virtual Simulation Experimental Training platform that offers 12 experimental programs. The company also offers technology services, including software development and maintenance, hardware installation, and testing and related consulting and training services; and cloud services for private companies, academic institutions, and government agencies. In addition, it provides financial education services through financial investment educational platform, which offers global securities market, basic securities knowledge, fundamental analysis, and technical analysis courses; and flexible employment service by providing recruitment outsourcing services for employer's permanent staff hires. Skillful Craftsman Education Technology Limited was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Wuxi, the People's Republic of China.