Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,400,000 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the August 15th total of 5,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Jabil Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Jabil stock traded up $1.02 on Wednesday, hitting $107.85. 1,346,895 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,450,546. Jabil has a 12-month low of $95.85 and a 12-month high of $156.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.27.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The technology company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 40.30% and a net margin of 4.63%. The business’s revenue was down 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Jabil will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Jabil from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Jabil from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Jabil from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Jabil from $137.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Jabil from $149.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jabil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.88.

Insider Activity

In other Jabil news, SVP May Yee Yap sold 4,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total value of $500,228.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,905,986.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 1,250 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total value of $145,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,126,704.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP May Yee Yap sold 4,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total transaction of $500,228.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,905,986.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jabil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jabil in the 4th quarter valued at $192,964,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Jabil by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,070,238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,919,948,000 after buying an additional 1,427,429 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Jabil in the second quarter worth about $78,660,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jabil by 195.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,060,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,404,000 after acquiring an additional 702,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Jabil by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,339,559 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,660,000 after acquiring an additional 359,818 shares during the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).