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

Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have 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 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.32.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JACK. UBS Group lowered their price target on Jack in the Box from $44.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research lowered Jack in the Box from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on Jack in the Box in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Jack in the Box from $45.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 6.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:JACK opened at $21.57 on Tuesday. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $18.24 and a 52-week high of $60.73. The stock has a market cap of $407.22 million, a P/E ratio of -11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.65.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $336.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. Jack in the Box’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,244,000 after acquiring an additional 25,881 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Jack in the Box by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,982 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Jack in the Box by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Jack in the Box in the fourth quarter valued at $666,000. 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.