Short Interest in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Expands By 8.0%

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 1,380,000 shares. Approximately 7.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 361,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JACK. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Jack in the Box from $89.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Jack in the Box in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on Jack in the Box from $84.00 to $73.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Jack in the Box from $96.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Cowen upped their target price on Jack in the Box from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jack in the Box presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.65.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

NASDAQ JACK opened at $74.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.37 and a 200 day moving average of $76.26. Jack in the Box has a 1 year low of $54.80 and a 1 year high of $96.87.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.02). Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $402.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.44 million. Research analysts expect that Jack in the Box will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 6th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 1,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.12, for a total transaction of $86,952.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,455,142.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $136,400.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,571.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Darin S. Harris sold 1,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.12, for a total value of $86,952.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,455,142.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,479 shares of company stock worth $306,303 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack in the Box during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Jack in the Box during the third quarter worth $31,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Jack in the Box during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Repertoire Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 344.1% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

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Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service restaurants. As of November 22, 2022, it operated and franchised approximately 2,2180 Jack in the Box quick-service restaurants in 21 states and Guam. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.