Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Trading Up 5.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)’s share price rose 5.4% during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $72.00 to $73.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Jack in the Box traded as high as $46.93 and last traded at $46.93. Approximately 138,532 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 501,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.51.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at $642,360.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 73.2% during 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 during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the first quarter valued at $97,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box during the first quarter valued at $260,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Jack in the Box during the third quarter valued at $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 4.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $897.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.82.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.14. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 16.46%. The business had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 6.22 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.99%.

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.