Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jabil (NYSE:JBL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Jabil from $151.00 to $149.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Jabil from $141.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Argus cut Jabil from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $144.50.

Jabil Price Performance

Shares of JBL stock opened at $118.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. Jabil has a 12 month low of $75.48 and a 12 month high of $156.94.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The technology company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.91 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 39.47% and a net margin of 4.70%. Research analysts expect that Jabil will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.75%.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In related news, CEO Kenneth S. Wilson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.20, for a total value of $2,013,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 339,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,591,095. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Jabil news, CEO Kenneth S. Wilson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.20, for a total transaction of $2,013,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 339,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,591,095. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Stout sold 31,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.12, for a total value of $3,853,656.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,285,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 107,177 shares of company stock worth $13,678,039. 2.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Jabil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Jabil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Jabil by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,305 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,719,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Jabil by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 185,371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,522,000 after purchasing an additional 86,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jabil by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 16,038 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).