Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Trading Down 4.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) shares were down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $35.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Jack in the Box traded as low as $29.20 and last traded at $29.13. Approximately 410,300 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 588,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.62.

Several other research analysts have also commented on JACK. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JACK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,244,000 after acquiring an additional 25,881 shares during the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 440,619 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,347,000 after purchasing an additional 163,834 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 436,361 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,170,000 after purchasing an additional 47,851 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its position in Jack in the Box by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 356,757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,855,000 after purchasing an additional 103,176 shares during the period. Finally, Clearline Capital LP raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 260,730 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 10,304 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $548.86 million, a P/E ratio of -14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.37.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 15.79% and a negative net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.47 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.05%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -82.63%.

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.