Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $75.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Jack in the Box traded as low as $59.19 and last traded at $59.65, with a volume of 76895 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.55.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on JACK. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Jack in the Box from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Jack in the Box from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Northcoast Research raised Jack in the Box from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.67.

Insider Activity at Jack in the Box

In related news, Director Michael W. Murphy sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 31,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 125,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 777.7% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 33,809 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 29,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCP Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 202,482 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.52 and a 200 day moving average of $72.25.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.95. The firm had revenue of $487.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.76 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 7.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 6.39 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.93%.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

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.