Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Stock Price Down 4.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) dropped 4.9% on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $35.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Jack in the Box traded as low as $29.20 and last traded at $29.13. Approximately 410,300 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 588,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.62.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Jack in the Box from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 436,361 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,170,000 after buying an additional 47,851 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Jack in the Box by 70.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,060,000 after purchasing an additional 89,649 shares in the last quarter. Biglari Sardar raised its position in Jack in the Box by 14.2% in the third quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 96,717 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,655,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter worth about $666,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jack in the Box Stock Down 5.8 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.25. The company has a market cap of $543.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.95.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $469.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.47 million. Jack in the Box had a negative net margin of 2.34% and a negative return on equity of 15.79%. On average, analysts forecast that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -82.63%.

About Jack in the Box

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.