Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.56.

A number of research firms have recently commented on JACK. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Jack in the Box Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of Jack in the Box stock opened at $36.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.96. Jack in the Box has a 12-month low of $32.69 and a 12-month high of $75.23. The company has a market capitalization of $692.09 million, a P/E ratio of -18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 15.79% and a negative net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $469.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.47 million. On average, analysts predict that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is currently -82.63%.

Insider Activity at Jack in the Box

In related news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total transaction of $68,397.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,343.80. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JACK. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 899 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 229.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

About Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box and Del Taco quick-service restaurants in the United States. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.