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

Jack In The Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.8438.

JACK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Jack In The Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Jack In The Box from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Jack In The Box from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $12.50 price objective on Jack In The Box in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $15.00 price objective on Jack In The Box in a research report on Thursday, May 14th.

Jack In The Box Price Performance

JACK opened at $14.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.14. Jack In The Box has a 1 year low of $8.91 and a 1 year high of $25.34. The stock has a market cap of $282.49 million, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.38.

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $254.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.55 million. Jack In The Box had a net margin of 2.82% and a negative return on equity of 6.34%. The firm’s revenue was down 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Jack In The Box will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Jack In The Box news, Director Guillermo Diaz, Jr. bought 5,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.51 per share, for a total transaction of $68,622.62. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,164.92. This represents a 40.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack In The Box

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jack In The Box by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 389,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,697,000 after buying an additional 121,752 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Jack In The Box in the 4th quarter worth about $2,043,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Jack In The Box by 1,990.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,457 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,226,000 after buying an additional 111,838 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of Jack In The Box during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,223,000. Finally, Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jack In The Box during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

About Jack In The Box

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is a publicly traded quick-service restaurant company best known for its Jack in the Box brand of fast-food restaurants. Founded in 1951 by Robert O. Peterson and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company has operated for decades as a franchisor and operator of drive-thru and dine-in restaurants. Its business model combines company-owned locations with franchise arrangements, and the company focuses on building brand recognition through menu innovation, marketing and service convenience.

The company’s core offerings center on a broad fast-food menu that includes hamburgers (notably the Jumbo Jack), tacos, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, sides and specialty limited-time items.