Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on JBL. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jabil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.17.

Jabil Stock Performance

NYSE JBL opened at $169.04 on Tuesday. Jabil has a twelve month low of $95.85 and a twelve month high of $170.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Jabil

In related news, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.81, for a total value of $599,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 138,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,744,490.32. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total transaction of $3,026,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 119,108 shares in the company, valued at $18,021,040.40. The trade was a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,038 shares of company stock worth $5,579,666. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jabil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Jabil by 11.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,116,308 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $613,087,000 after acquiring an additional 520,672 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Jabil by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,692,560 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $442,479,000 after purchasing an additional 9,685 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Jabil by 12,251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,206,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,521 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Jabil by 195.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,060,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,404,000 after buying an additional 702,199 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Jabil by 15.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 903,526 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $108,270,000 after buying an additional 118,376 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).