Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JACK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $32.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $24.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Jack in the Box from $45.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

JACK opened at $24.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.07. Jack in the Box has a 1 year low of $22.01 and a 1 year high of $60.73. The stock has a market cap of $453.72 million, a P/E ratio of -12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.35.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.07. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $336.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $345.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box's payout ratio is currently -82.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 12.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 998,197 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,141,000 after acquiring an additional 106,993 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Jack in the Box by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,244,000 after purchasing an additional 25,881 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 681,935 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $18,840,000 after purchasing an additional 241,316 shares during the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 675,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $18,371,000 after purchasing an additional 370,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,152 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,566,000 after purchasing an additional 25,791 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box and Del Taco quick-service restaurants in the United States. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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