Jack In The Box Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:JACK)

Jack In The Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 5,074 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 644% compared to the typical volume of 682 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JACK shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Jack In The Box from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $15.00 price target on shares of Jack In The Box in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Jack In The Box from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Jack In The Box from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Jack In The Box from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.84.

Insider Activity

In other Jack In The Box news, Director Guillermo Diaz, Jr. bought 5,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.51 per share, with a total value of $68,622.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,692 shares in the company, valued at $238,164.92. The trade was a 40.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JACK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Jack In The Box by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 389,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,697,000 after buying an additional 121,752 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Jack In The Box in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,043,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jack In The Box by 1,990.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,457 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 111,838 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in shares of Jack In The Box in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,223,000. Finally, Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jack In The Box in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,263,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jack In The Box Stock Up 15.1%

Shares of JACK traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.33. The stock had a trading volume of 773,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,550. The company has a market cap of $254.26 million, a PE ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.74. Jack In The Box has a fifty-two week low of $8.91 and a fifty-two week high of $25.34.

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Jack In The Box had a negative return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $254.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Jack In The Box will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

About Jack In The Box

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is a publicly traded quick-service restaurant company best known for its Jack in the Box brand of fast-food restaurants. Founded in 1951 by Robert O. Peterson and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company has operated for decades as a franchisor and operator of drive-thru and dine-in restaurants. Its business model combines company-owned locations with franchise arrangements, and the company focuses on building brand recognition through menu innovation, marketing and service convenience.

The company’s core offerings center on a broad fast-food menu that includes hamburgers (notably the Jumbo Jack), tacos, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, sides and specialty limited-time items.