Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $133.96, but opened at $148.16. Jabil shares last traded at $146.17, with a volume of 982,781 shares.

The technology company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 42.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBL. Bank of America lifted their target price on Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Jabil from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jabil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jabil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

Insider Transactions at Jabil

In other Jabil news, EVP Matthew Crowley sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total transaction of $173,645.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,568 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,411.44. This trade represents a 6.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total value of $1,430,701.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,507 shares in the company, valued at $5,051,816.97. The trade was a 22.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,689 shares of company stock worth $5,377,431 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Jabil by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jabil by 2.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Jabil by 3.5% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its stake in Jabil by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 17,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Jabil by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jabil Trading Up 8.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.78.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).