Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 9,659 Shares of Jackson Financial Inc. $JXN

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Jackson Financial Inc. by 2.4% during Q2, owning 411,217 shares valued at approximately $36.5 million.
• Jackson Financial announced a $1 billion share buyback plan to repurchase 14.4% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding 3.2%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 411,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,659 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.58% of Jackson Financial worth $36,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of JXN. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jackson Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Jackson Financial by 987.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Jackson Financial by 161.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Jackson Financial in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Jackson Financial in the first quarter valued at about $67,000. 89.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jackson Financial Price Performance

Shares of JXN traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $102.16. 332,833 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 755,509. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of -1,702.38 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $93.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.05. Jackson Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.70 and a 12 month high of $115.22.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of ($471.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Jackson Financial had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 1.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Jackson Financial Inc. will post 20.55 EPS for the current year.

Jackson Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Jackson Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -5,333.33%.

Jackson Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 14.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JXN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Jackson Financial from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Jackson Financial from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Jackson Financial from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Jackson Financial from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Jackson Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jackson Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.20.

Jackson Financial Profile

Jackson Financial Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides suite of annuities to retail investors in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Retail Annuities, Institutional Products, and Closed Life and Annuity Blocks. The Retail Annuities segment offers various retirement income and savings products, including variable, fixed index, fixed, and payout annuities, as well as registered index-linked annuities and lifetime income solutions.