Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Earns Buy Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their buy rating on shares of Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on JACK. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $52.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $51.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.56.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JACK opened at $38.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $728.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.81, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a one year low of $32.69 and a one year high of $76.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.52.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -90.26%.

Insider Transactions at Jack in the Box

In related news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total transaction of $68,397.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at $681,343.80. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,190 shares of company stock worth $92,961. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Jack in the Box during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,802,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter worth $7,655,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 440,619 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $18,347,000 after purchasing an additional 163,834 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Jack in the Box by 178.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 196,740 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,192,000 after buying an additional 126,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Jack in the Box in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,249,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

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.