H&R Block (NYSE:HRB – Get Free Report) and Coursera (NYSE:COUR – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation and profitability.
Volatility and Risk
H&R Block has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coursera has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for H&R Block and Coursera, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| H&R Block | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.40 |
| Coursera | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2.50 |
H&R Block presently has a consensus target price of $46.67, indicating a potential downside of 1.71%. Coursera has a consensus target price of $8.36, indicating a potential upside of 67.17%. Given Coursera’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coursera is more favorable than H&R Block.
Profitability
This table compares H&R Block and Coursera’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| H&R Block | 18.59% | -214.84% | 22.56% |
| Coursera | -15.39% | -1.72% | -1.07% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
90.1% of H&R Block shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Coursera shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of H&R Block shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.3% of Coursera shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares H&R Block and Coursera”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| H&R Block | $3.95 billion | 1.47 | $733.60 million | $5.72 | 8.30 |
| Coursera | $757.50 million | 1.75 | -$51.00 million | ($0.67) | -7.47 |
H&R Block has higher revenue and earnings than Coursera. Coursera is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than H&R Block, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
H&R Block beats Coursera on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc. engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.
About Coursera
Coursera, Inc. operates an online educational content platform in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Enterprise, and Degrees. The company offers guided projects, courses, and specializations, as well as online degrees; and certificates for entry-level professional, non-entry level professional, university, and MasterTrack. It offers its products to individuals, enterprise, business, campus, and government. The company was formerly known as Dkandu, Inc. and changed its name to Coursera, Inc. in April 2012. Coursera, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
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