Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.17.

Jabil Stock Performance

Shares of JBL stock opened at $162.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.72. Jabil has a one year low of $95.85 and a one year high of $164.25.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. Jabil had a return on equity of 41.87% and a net margin of 4.71%. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jabil will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.28, for a total transaction of $523,725.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,421,476.16. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total value of $3,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 119,108 shares in the company, valued at $18,021,040.40. This represents a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,038 shares of company stock valued at $8,073,666 over the last quarter. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jabil

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Jabil by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Jabil by 2.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jabil by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jabil by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Jabil by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 93.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).