Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Trading Up 5% Following Dividend Announcement

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)’s share price shot up 5% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $36.42 and last traded at $36.79. 382,505 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 566,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.03.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is presently -82.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JACK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $51.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Northcoast Research cut shares of Jack in the Box from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.56.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 5.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $695.28 million, a PE ratio of -18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average is $44.02.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $469.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Jack in the Box

In related news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,343.80. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 238.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,869 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 15,409 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $10,060,000 after acquiring an additional 89,649 shares during the last quarter. Biglari Sardar raised 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 valued at $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Jack in the Box during the third quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 738,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,244,000 after purchasing an additional 25,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.