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

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)’s stock price traded down 4.9% during 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. 410,300 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 588,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.62.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 436,361 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,170,000 after acquiring an additional 47,851 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Jack in the Box by 70.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,060,000 after purchasing an additional 89,649 shares in the last quarter. Biglari Sardar increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 96,717 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Jack in the Box during the 4th quarter worth $7,655,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the 4th quarter valued at $666,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.86 million, a PE ratio of -14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $469.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.47 million. On average, equities 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.05%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is presently -82.63%.

About Jack in the Box

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.