Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research cut shares of Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on JACK. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Jack in the Box from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on Jack in the Box from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.44.

Jack in the Box Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ JACK traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.77. 623,316 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,163. The company has a market capitalization of $856.27 million, a P/E ratio of -23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.61. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $40.84 and a 52-week high of $86.20.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is currently -88.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Jack in the Box news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,360.66. This represents a 5.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JACK. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 81,691 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,802,000 after acquiring an additional 43,086 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 191.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 88,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 57,810 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,802,000. Clearline Capital LP boosted its stake in Jack in the Box by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 260,730 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 10,304 shares during the period. Finally, Biglari Sardar grew its position in Jack in the Box by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 96,717 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.