Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Stock Position Lowered by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,605 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 14,089 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.39% of Jack in the Box worth $10,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JACK. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,626 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 96.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 899 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Jack in the Box by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 229.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Jack in the Box by 168.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,558 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $32.00 target price on Jack in the Box and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush cut shares of Jack in the Box from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JACK traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.16. 561,515 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 658,855. The company has a market cap of $512.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.32. Jack in the Box Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.01 and a 1 year high of $60.73.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 15.79% and a negative net margin of 2.34%. On average, research analysts forecast that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -82.63%.

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.