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

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.35.

Several analysts have issued reports on JACK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

NASDAQ JACK opened at $42.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.68 and a 200-day moving average of $57.02. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $40.84 and a 52-week high of $86.20. The company has a market capitalization of $831.44 million, a P/E ratio of 7.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.95.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.46% and a negative net margin of 2.30%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Jack in the Box will post 6.22 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is currently 30.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of Jack in the Box stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total transaction of $30,880.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,360.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total value of $30,880.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,348 shares of company stock worth $67,476. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JACK. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 261.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 557,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,408,000 after buying an additional 403,423 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP grew its holdings in Jack in the Box by 136.7% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 250,426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,757,000 after purchasing an additional 144,631 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 26.2% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 626,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,937,000 after purchasing an additional 130,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 840.9% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 129,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,593,000 after purchasing an additional 115,972 shares in the last quarter. 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.