Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 623,482 Shares of Jackson Financial Inc. $JXN

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its stake in Jackson Financial by 71.3%, owning 251,289 shares after selling 623,482 shares in the second quarter.
• Jackson Financial recently announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, signaling that the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Jackson Financial, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target range between $95.00 and $114.00.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN - Free Report) by 71.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,289 shares of the company's stock after selling 623,482 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.35% of Jackson Financial worth $22,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JXN. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jackson Financial by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,666,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,581,000 after buying an additional 108,758 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jackson Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,084,560 shares of the company's stock worth $90,864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Jackson Financial by 296.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 658,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,166,000 after acquiring an additional 492,492 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Jackson Financial by 11.1% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 651,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,608,000 after acquiring an additional 65,239 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Jackson Financial in the first quarter valued at about $43,830,000. 89.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jackson Financial Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:JXN traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 928,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,971. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.05. Jackson Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.70 and a fifty-two week high of $115.22.

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

Jackson Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Jackson Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently -5,333.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JXN shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Jackson Financial from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Jackson Financial from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Zacks Research lowered Jackson Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Jackson Financial from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jackson Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.