Strs Ohio Takes Position in Jackson Financial Inc. $JXN

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Jackson Financial Inc., purchasing 8,500 shares valued at approximately $712,000 during the first quarter.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase program, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Jackson Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with a yield of 3.2%, to be paid to shareholders on September 25th.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $712,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of JXN. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jackson Financial by 3,818.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 165,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,453,000 after purchasing an additional 161,740 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Jackson Financial during the fourth quarter worth $843,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Jackson Financial by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 103,162 shares of the company's stock worth $8,983,000 after buying an additional 66,878 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jackson Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,622,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Jackson Financial by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 203,456 shares of the company's stock worth $17,717,000 after buying an additional 31,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.96% of the company's stock.

Jackson Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Jackson Financial stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.58. 227,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,006. The stock has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,690.15 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $93.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.92. Jackson Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.70 and a 12-month high of $115.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

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

Jackson Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 14.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jackson Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Jackson Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently -5,333.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on JXN. Barclays upped their target price on Jackson Financial from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Jackson Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Jackson Financial from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Jackson Financial from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Jackson Financial from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.20.

About Jackson Financial

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.