Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jabil (NYSE:JBL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on JBL. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jabil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.17.

Jabil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JBL opened at $167.62 on Tuesday. Jabil has a 52 week low of $95.85 and a 52 week high of $168.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.14. The company has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 41.87% and a net margin of 4.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Jabil will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In other Jabil news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $2,494,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 139,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,346,767.60. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total value of $1,430,701.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,816.97. This represents a 22.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,038 shares of company stock valued at $8,073,666. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Jabil by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,034 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Jabil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jabil by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).