Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Short Interest Update

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,560,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.27, for a total transaction of $551,718.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,283. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total value of $3,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 119,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,021,040.40. This represents a 14.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,400 shares of company stock valued at $12,804,458 over the last 90 days. 1.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jabil during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Jabil by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 274 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Jabil in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jabil Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:JBL traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.20. The stock had a trading volume of 940,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,527. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.29 and a 200 day moving average of $140.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.19. Jabil has a one year low of $95.85 and a one year high of $174.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.11. Jabil had a return on equity of 41.87% and a net margin of 4.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jabil will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Jabil from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Jabil from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Jabil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.50.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).