Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Sells 23,690 Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lessened its stake in shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,607 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,690 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.67% of Jack in the Box worth $5,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 219,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $9,127,000 after buying an additional 21,182 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Jack in the Box by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 54,778 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,281,000 after buying an additional 15,178 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Jack in the Box by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,777 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Jack in the Box during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,037,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 91,227 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,799,000 after acquiring an additional 9,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JACK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

Shares of Jack in the Box stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 561,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,855. Jack in the Box Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.01 and a 52 week high of $60.73. The company has a market capitalization of $512.18 million, a PE ratio of -13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.45.

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

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Jack in the Box's dividend payout ratio is currently -82.63%.

Jack in the Box 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.