H&R Block shares rally after company beats EPS, sales expectations

Shares of H&R Block Inc. rose more than 11% late Tuesday after the tax preparer reported adjusted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and sales above expectations and announced a 9% dividend increase. H&R Block said it earned $783 million, or $3.75 a share, in the quarter, compared with $700 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company reported per-share earnings of $3.76, compared with $3.16 a share a year ago. Total revenue reached $3 billion, flat compared with a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $3.53 a share on sales of $2.32 billion. The company announced a dividend increase to 24 cents a share.

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