Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JACK. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total transaction of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,343.80. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,190 shares of company stock valued at $92,961. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 229.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Jack in the Box by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Jack in the Box in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Jack in the Box by 172.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:JACK opened at $41.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $773.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a twelve month low of $36.36 and a twelve month high of $79.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.33.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.26%.

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.