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

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, a decline of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 540,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 9.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jack in the Box

In other Jack in the Box news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,201 shares in the company, valued at $642,360.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Jack in the Box by 386.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 30,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 23,990 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 129.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832 shares in the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 136.7% during the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 250,426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,757,000 after acquiring an additional 144,631 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 3.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,733 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 10.2% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 240,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,266,000 after buying an additional 22,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Up 2.5 %

JACK traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.54. The stock had a trading volume of 471,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,497. The stock has a market cap of $902.41 million, a PE ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.95. Jack in the Box has a 1 year low of $40.84 and a 1 year high of $86.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.57.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 6.22 EPS for the current year.

Jack in the Box Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is 30.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JACK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Jack in the Box from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.35.

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.