Short Interest in Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) Rises By 11.6%

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, an increase of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 2,590,000 shares. Approximately 16.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 609,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Jack in the Box Price Performance

Shares of JACK traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.18. The stock had a trading volume of 536,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,542. Jack in the Box has a 52-week low of $36.36 and a 52-week high of $77.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.57 and its 200 day moving average is $45.24. The firm has a market cap of $738.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Sarah L. Super sold 1,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.52, for a total transaction of $68,397.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,815 shares in the company, valued at $681,343.80. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,190 shares of company stock worth $92,961. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack in the Box

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JACK. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at about $11,802,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jack in the Box in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,655,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jack in the Box by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 440,619 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,347,000 after buying an additional 163,834 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Jack in the Box by 178.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 196,740 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,192,000 after buying an additional 126,101 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Jack in the Box during the fourth quarter worth about $4,249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JACK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Jack in the Box from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Jack in the Box from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $51.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

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.