Short Interest in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Declines By 14.1%

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the October 15th total of 2,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 535,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JACK shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research downgraded Jack in the Box from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.81.

Jack in the Box Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ JACK traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.61. The company had a trading volume of 887,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,588. The company has a market capitalization of $891.65 million, a PE ratio of -23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.93. Jack in the Box has a one year low of $40.84 and a one year high of $86.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.44.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is presently -88.44%.

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 stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at $642,360.66. This represents a 5.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 712,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,156,000 after acquiring an additional 85,461 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Jack in the Box by 261.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 557,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,408,000 after buying an additional 403,423 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 388,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,081,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038 shares in the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP boosted its position in Jack in the Box by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 260,730 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,134,000 after buying an additional 10,304 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter worth $11,802,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.