Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.94.

Several research analysts have weighed in on JACK shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Jack in the Box from $81.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $99.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Friday, June 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

JACK opened at $48.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $948.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.20 and its 200 day moving average is $66.81. Jack in the Box has a fifty-two week low of $48.51 and a fifty-two week high of $99.56.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $365.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $369.53 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jack in the Box will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jack in the Box news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total value of $30,880.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 800 shares of company stock valued at $41,514 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Jack in the Box by 73.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Jack in the Box in the third quarter worth about $93,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Jack in the Box during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.