Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Receives $86.83 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.67.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Jack in the Box from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wedbush raised Jack in the Box from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on Jack in the Box from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Jack in the Box from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JACK opened at $59.58 on Thursday. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $58.96 and a 52-week high of $99.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.52 and a 200 day moving average of $72.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.76.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.95. Jack in the Box had a net margin of 7.03% and a negative return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $487.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jack in the Box will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.93%.

Insider Transactions at Jack in the Box

In related news, Director Michael W. Murphy sold 1,332 shares of Jack in the Box stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $96,676.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 71,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,155,720.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 45.8% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 621 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 0.8% during the first quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 24,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Jack in the Box during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.