Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 540,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 9.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on JACK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Jack in the Box from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.35.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 0.3 %

Jack in the Box stock opened at $46.68 on Wednesday. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $40.84 and a 52-week high of $86.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.82 and its 200 day moving average is $54.18. The company has a market cap of $905.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.95.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million for 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 business’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is 30.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jack in the Box

In other Jack in the Box news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total transaction of $33,867.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,360.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 678.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 105,203 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,588,000 after buying an additional 91,688 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 97,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,998,000 after buying an additional 51,166 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 8,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.