Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on April 8th

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) declared a quarterly dividend on Sunday, March 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the restaurant operator on Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th.

Jack in the Box has increased its dividend by an average of 0.8% per year over the last three years. Jack in the Box has a dividend payout ratio of 30.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Jack in the Box to earn $5.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.5%.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

Jack in the Box stock opened at $32.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $606.28 million, a PE ratio of -16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95. Jack in the Box has a fifty-two week low of $30.76 and a fifty-two week high of $74.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.96.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $470.47 million. As a group, analysts predict that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jack in the Box news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total value of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,343.80. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JACK has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $52.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.56.

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.