Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $180.16 and last traded at $179.66, with a volume of 316168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JBL. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Jabil from $184.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Jabil from $165.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Jabil from $175.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Jabil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.17.

Jabil Trading Down 0.6%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $154.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.46. The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. Jabil's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Jabil Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Jabil's payout ratio is 7.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Dastoor sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.90, for a total value of $1,699,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,665,640.70. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Mark T. Mondello sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.75, for a total transaction of $3,335,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,710,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,174,516. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $7,665,200 in the last quarter. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jabil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its stake in shares of Jabil by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,533,149 shares of the technology company's stock worth $796,220,000 after buying an additional 416,841 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Jabil by 1.2% during the fourth 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 stake in shares of Jabil by 15.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,173,095 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $295,693,000 after purchasing an additional 295,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter worth about $218,430,000. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).