Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Jabil (NYSE:JBL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on JBL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.17.

Jabil Stock Performance

NYSE:JBL opened at $161.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. Jabil has a fifty-two week low of $95.85 and a fifty-two week high of $174.80.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The company’s revenue was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Jabil will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Jabil news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total value of $3,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 119,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,021,040.40. The trade was a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.81, for a total transaction of $599,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 138,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,744,490.32. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,252,740. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Jabil by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jabil by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Jabil by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jabil by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Jabil

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).