Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Short Interest Update

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,130,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the September 30th total of 1,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 545,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 11.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,360.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack in the Box

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Jack in the Box by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,378 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Jack in the Box by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,733 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in Jack in the Box by 73.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 8.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,796 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JACK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Jack in the Box from $87.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.06.

Jack in the Box Stock Down 2.9 %

JACK stock traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 310,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,062. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.37. The stock has a market cap of $941.96 million, a PE ratio of -24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a 52 week low of $40.84 and a 52 week high of $86.20.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $371.81 million. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.46% and a negative net margin of 2.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jack in the Box will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is currently -88.44%.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

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.