Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Receives “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their buy rating on shares of Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $55.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $52.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Jack in the Box from $51.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wedbush lowered Jack in the Box from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jack in the Box has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.56.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JACK opened at $38.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.55 and a 200-day moving average of $44.52. The stock has a market cap of $728.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a one year low of $32.69 and a one year high of $76.56.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $469.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.26%.

Insider Transactions at Jack in the Box

In related news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total value of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,343.80. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,190 shares of company stock valued at $92,961 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 238.5% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 15,409 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,060,000 after buying an additional 89,649 shares in the last quarter. Biglari Sardar boosted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 96,717 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,501,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,475,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,244,000 after acquiring an additional 25,881 shares during the last quarter. 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.