Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Short Interest Update

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,130,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the September 30th total of 1,930,000 shares. Currently, 11.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 545,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JACK shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on Jack in the Box from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jack in the Box presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.06.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

NASDAQ JACK traded down $1.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.25. 310,039 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,062. Jack in the Box has a 1-year low of $40.84 and a 1-year high of $86.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.37. The company has a market cap of $941.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.94.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 16.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is presently -88.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,360.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 115,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 6.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,581 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Jack in the Box by 111.5% during the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,022 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 17,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the first quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.