Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Stake in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,941 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Jack in the Box were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jack in the Box in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at $31,000. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 136.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,512 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Jack in the Box Stock Performance

JACK stock opened at $92.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. Jack in the Box Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.80 and a 1 year high of $97.99.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 17th. The restaurant operator reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. Jack in the Box had a negative return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 8.61%. The business had revenue of $395.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Jack in the Box Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Jack in the Box Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 30th. Jack in the Box’s payout ratio is 24.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jack in the Box news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.90, for a total transaction of $328,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,562.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Jack in the Box news, Director Michael W. Murphy sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.26, for a total transaction of $115,731.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,669,339.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 3,500 shares of Jack in the Box stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.90, for a total value of $328,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,562.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,264 shares of company stock valued at $570,006. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JACK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Jack in the Box from $80.00 to $88.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jack in the Box in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Jack in the Box from $114.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Jack in the Box from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.24.

About Jack in the Box

(Get Rating)

Jack in the Box, Inc engages in operating and franchising a chain of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. It operates through the Jack in the Box Restaurant segments. The Jack in the Box Restaurant segment offers a broad selection of distinctive products including burgers like Jumbo Jack burgers, and product lines such as Buttery Jack burgers including the Brunchfast menu.