Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Block, Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:SQ)

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Block in a research report issued on Monday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Cantwell now forecasts that the technology company will post earnings per share of ($0.05) for the quarter, up from their previous forecast 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.

Several other analysts have also commented on SQ. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.41.

Block Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,907,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,110,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 432.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.55. Block has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.75.

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

Institutional Trading of Block

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter worth $528,996,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Block by 3,525.7% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771,310 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter worth $172,001,000. Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter worth $157,021,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Block by 113.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,287,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Company Profile

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.