Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN) Short Interest Update

Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a growth of 23.2% from the March 31st total of 2,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 957,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 5.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Jackson Financial Price Performance

Shares of JXN stock traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $84.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 264,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,439. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Jackson Financial has a twelve month low of $64.70 and a twelve month high of $115.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.47 and a 200-day moving average of $89.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 1.50.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.93 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jackson Financial will post 20.55 EPS for the current year.

Jackson Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Jackson Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Jackson Financial's payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JXN. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Jackson Financial from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Jackson Financial from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Jackson Financial from $118.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jackson Financial

In related news, CEO Scott Romine sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.43, for a total value of $591,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,199,852.68. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig Donald Smith sold 20,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.52, for a total transaction of $1,432,598.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 116,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,093,726.96. This trade represents a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JXN. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jackson Financial in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Jackson Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Jackson Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jackson Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Jackson Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 89.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jackson Financial Company 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.