Zacks Still Bearish on Block

Zacks Equity Research, Chicago, in its analyst blog for Sept. 7, maintains its bearish outlook on the stock of H&R Block, Kansas City, Mo., the parent company of nonprime lender Option One Mortgage Corp., Irvine, Calif.The research company said it is maintaining its sell rating on Block. "Until we see evidence that the mortgage business has stabilized, we expect limited upside movement in the share price," Zacks said. It said it expects Block's stock to trade at the low end of a 10 times/20 times forward 12-month earnings range. Right now its six-month target price of $18 is based on 11 times its 2007 earnings estimate, Zacks reported. According to Yahoo! Finance, Block's 52-week range is $19.80 to $26.96 per share. As of 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, Block was trading at $21.08 per share. Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com.