Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on JACK. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a sell rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.61.

Jack in the Box Trading Up 1.8 %

JACK traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, reaching $53.53. The stock had a trading volume of 445,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,386. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.91. Jack in the Box has a fifty-two week low of $46.10 and a fifty-two week high of $88.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.26 and a 200-day moving average of $61.40.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $369.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total transaction of $30,880.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 800 shares of company stock worth $41,514 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 73.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the 1st quarter worth about $97,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Jack in the Box by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Jack in the Box by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 11.2% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.