Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Approximately 9.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 540,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Jack in the Box

In related news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total transaction of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,360.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JACK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in 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 period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 261.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 557,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,408,000 after buying an additional 403,423 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 136.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 250,426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,757,000 after buying an additional 144,631 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 245,491 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,505,000 after buying an additional 18,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 10.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 240,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,266,000 after acquiring an additional 22,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

Shares of Jack in the Box stock opened at $46.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $905.13 million, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.95. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $40.84 and a 52-week high of $86.20.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 16.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jack in the Box will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on JACK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.35.

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.