Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on JACK. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $95.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.88.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 11.8 %

Shares of JACK opened at $37.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $715.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a twelve month low of $32.69 and a twelve month high of $76.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.56.

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

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is -90.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jack in the Box

In other Jack in the Box news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of Jack in the Box stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total value of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,343.80. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,190 shares of company stock valued at $92,961. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 899 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 229.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.