Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 trading volume of 545,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 11.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Jack in the Box from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.06.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box Trading Down 2.9 %

JACK traded down $1.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.25. The stock had a trading volume of 310,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,062. The firm has a market cap of $941.96 million, a PE ratio of -24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.94. Jack in the Box has a 12 month low of $40.84 and a 12 month high of $86.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.37.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.14. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.46% and a negative net margin of 2.30%. The firm had revenue of $369.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $371.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Jack in the Box

In other Jack in the Box news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total transaction of $33,867.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,360.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Jack in the Box by 13.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 712,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,156,000 after buying an additional 85,461 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 261.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 557,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,408,000 after purchasing an additional 403,423 shares in the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 144,631 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 8.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 245,491 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,505,000 after purchasing an additional 18,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Jack in the Box by 10.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 240,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,266,000 after purchasing an additional 22,226 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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