Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.83.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JACK. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Wednesday. Northcoast Research raised shares of Jack in the Box from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of JACK opened at $61.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.76. Jack in the Box has a one year low of $59.79 and a one year high of $99.56.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95. Jack in the Box had a net margin of 7.03% and a negative return on equity of 17.24%. The firm had revenue of $487.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Jack in the Box news, Director Michael W. Murphy sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $96,676.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 71,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,155,720.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 45.8% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 621 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Jack in the Box by 136.3% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,512 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.