Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $139.48, but opened at $146.30. Jabil shares last traded at $145.95, with a volume of 440,800 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JBL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Jabil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.27, for a total value of $551,718.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,283. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.81, for a total transaction of $599,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 138,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,744,490.32. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,400 shares of company stock valued at $12,804,458 in the last ninety days. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jabil during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Jabil during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Jabil by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 274 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.39% of the company’s stock.

Jabil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.91. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.19.

Jabil Company Profile

Jabil Inc provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA).