Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,910,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 2,760,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on JBL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Jabil from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Jabil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jabil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.17.

Jabil Stock Performance

Shares of JBL opened at $143.90 on Thursday. Jabil has a 52-week low of $95.85 and a 52-week high of $156.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 42.64%. Jabil’s revenue was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Jabil will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Jabil’s payout ratio is currently 3.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total value of $1,430,701.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,051,816.97. This represents a 22.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,283 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.28, for a total value of $523,725.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,472 shares in the company, valued at $17,421,476.16. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,689 shares of company stock valued at $4,902,631 in the last three months. 1.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBL. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jabil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Jabil during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Jabil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Jabil by 135.4% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 372 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Jabil by 114.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 428 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).