Oppenheimer Reiterates Perform Rating on H&R Block (HRB)

Oppenheimer is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Perform rating on H&R Block HRB; it did note provide a price target for the stock. The Oppenheimer analysts cited the company's soon to be release quarterly earnings, noting that the conference call is instead highly anticipated for the following reasons: 1) An update on HRB's contract issues with HSBC, 2) Indications of HRB's "go-to-market" strategy for the 2011 tax season, including an update on its pending acquisition of TaxAC, and 3) Incremental data with regard to HRB's mortgage putback overhang. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “HRB currently trades at 7.4-8.4x our FY11/CY11/FY12 EPS estimates of $1.57/$1.68/$1.77, respectively, with a dividend (12/9/10 ex-dividend date) that yields 4.6%.”