Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, a growth of 10.9% from the December 15th total of 1,740,000 shares. Approximately 10.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 591,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JACK. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Jack in the Box from $52.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Jack in the Box from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jack in the Box presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.76.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

NASDAQ:JACK traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.66. 609,625 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 599,440. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.31. Jack in the Box has a fifty-two week low of $36.36 and a fifty-two week high of $81.01.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -90.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total transaction of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,343.80. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,343 shares of company stock valued at $100,601. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,688 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,873 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 188.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 7,504 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 30,452.9% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 21,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 21,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 229.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.