Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Jabil, Inc. (NYSE:JBL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $287.00 and last traded at $287.8480, with a volume of 5484 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $272.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JBL. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Jabil from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Jabil in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Jabil from $244.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Jabil from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $282.00 target price on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.25.

Jabil Trading Up 4.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $258.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The technology company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.18. Jabil had a return on equity of 80.96% and a net margin of 2.48%.The company had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Jabil’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Jabil, Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anousheh Ansari sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $270,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,800 shares in the company, valued at $9,126,000. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gary K. Schick sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.33, for a total value of $278,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,367,832.19. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,018 shares of company stock valued at $15,093,181. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jabil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Jabil during the 4th quarter worth about $407,299,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Jabil by 1,157.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,454,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,247 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Jabil by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,319,675 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $286,594,000 after purchasing an additional 682,899 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Jabil by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,884,545 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $429,714,000 after buying an additional 591,364 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,710,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.39% of the company’s stock.

About Jabil

Jabil Inc (NYSE: JBL) is a global manufacturing solutions provider specializing in electronic manufacturing services (EMS) and diversified products across a wide range of industries. The company partners with original equipment manufacturers to deliver design engineering, supply chain management, precision manufacturing, and aftermarket services. Jabil’s expertise spans sectors such as healthcare, automotive, clean technology, telecommunications, consumer electronics, and packaging, enabling it to support both high-volume production and complex, mission-critical applications.

Founded in 1966 by William E.