Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.06.

A number of research firms recently commented on JACK. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on Jack in the Box from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jack in the Box

In other news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,360.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 2.9% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 200,067 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,311,000 after buying an additional 5,582 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Jack in the Box during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 712,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,156,000 after acquiring an additional 85,461 shares during the period. Selway Asset Management acquired a new stake in Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 26.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,695 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JACK opened at $50.37 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.29. The company has a market capitalization of $963.58 million, a PE ratio of -25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a 12-month low of $40.84 and a 12-month high of $86.20.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million for 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%. Jack in the Box’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Jack in the Box will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is -88.44%.

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.