Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Coverage Initiated at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $245.00 price objective on the technology company's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Jabil in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Jabil from $188.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Jabil from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Argus raised Jabil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Jabil from $206.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $225.71.

Jabil Trading Up 1.2%

JBL traded up $2.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $224.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,129,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,656. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $176.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20. Jabil has a 52 week low of $95.85 and a 52 week high of $227.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 17th. The technology company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.03 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 60.19% and a net margin of 2.02%. The company's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Jabil will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Jabil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

Insider Transactions at Jabil

In other news, SVP Francis Mckay sold 3,395 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.48, for a total value of $697,604.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,112 shares in the company, valued at $7,831,253.76. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP May Yee Yap sold 6,787 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $1,398,122.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,269,892. This represents a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 316,431 shares of company stock worth $60,571,609. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Jabil by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,556,153 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $892,096,000 after purchasing an additional 747,423 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Jabil by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,533,149 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $796,220,000 after purchasing an additional 416,841 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jabil by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,810,519 shares of the technology company's stock worth $404,024,000 after buying an additional 34,574 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,173,095 shares of the technology company's stock worth $295,693,000 after buying an additional 295,496 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,430,000. Institutional investors own 93.39% of the company's stock.

About Jabil

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).