Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

JBL has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Jabil from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Jabil from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Jabil from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.50.

Jabil Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:JBL opened at $145.02 on Friday. Jabil has a 52-week low of $95.85 and a 52-week high of $174.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.15. The company has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.19.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.11. Jabil had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The company had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jabil will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jabil

In other Jabil news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.27, for a total transaction of $551,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,283. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total transaction of $3,026,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 119,108 shares in the company, valued at $18,021,040.40. The trade was a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,400 shares of company stock valued at $12,804,458. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Jabil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Jabil in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Jabil by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 274 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jabil by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.39% of the company’s stock.

About Jabil

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).