Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, a growth of 24.5% from the August 15th total of 1,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 551,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 10.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JACK has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.35.

Jack in the Box Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ:JACK opened at $42.91 on Tuesday. Jack in the Box has a twelve month low of $40.84 and a twelve month high of $86.20. The company has a market cap of $832.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.41.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.46% and a negative net margin of 2.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jack in the Box will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is currently 30.99%.

Insider Activity at Jack in the Box

In other Jack in the Box news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total transaction of $30,880.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Jack in the Box news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.64, for a total transaction of $30,880.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,693,404.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total transaction of $33,867.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,360.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,348 shares of company stock valued at $67,476. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JACK. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Jack in the Box by 73.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box during the first quarter valued at about $97,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% during 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. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 11.2% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.