H&R Block (HRB) To Report Q3 Earnings: What's In Store?

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2019 results on Mar 7, before the bell.

The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 8.7%.

How Things are Shaping up for the Announcement?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues in the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $461 million, indicating year-over-year decline of 5.5%. The expected decline is likely to be caused by weakness in the Assisted business due to discontinuation of Free EZ promotion.

The consensus mark for the bottom line is pegged at a loss of 83 cents, which indicates that loss will be narrow 54.3% year over year. Ongoing strategic investments in price, technology and operations will continue to weigh on the bottom line and offset the positive impacts of serving fewer Free EZ-type clients.

Our Model Does Not Suggest a Beat

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) stocks are best avoided, especially if they have a negative Earnings ESP. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

H&R Block has an Earnings ESP of -3.77% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector that investors may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat estimates.

Everi Holdings Inc (NYSE:EVRI) has Earnings ESP of +20.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Knoll, Inc (NYSE:KNL) has Earnings ESP of +2.56% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE:WM) has Earnings ESP of +1.08% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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