Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Jack In The Box (NASDAQ:JACK) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $254.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.55 million. Jack In The Box had a negative net margin of 8.69% and a negative return on equity of 7.12%. The company’s revenue was down 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Jack In The Box’s conference call:

• Same-store sales fell 3.8% in the second quarter, with transaction declines only partially offset by pricing and mix improvements.
• Margins were pressured by higher beef and other input costs, with restaurant-level margin dropping to 16.4% from 19.6% a year ago.
• Management said quarter-to-date sales are approaching flat and expects steady improvement through Q3, with Q4 planned to be the strongest quarter of the year.
• The company highlighted progress from its “barbell” strategy, combining value offers like Much Better Deals with premium items such as Smashed Jack sliders to lift transactions and checks.
• Jack in the Box is moving ahead with debt reduction and refinancing, including a planned early prepayment of about $99 million and expected real estate sale proceeds of $35 million-$45 million this year.

Jack In The Box Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of Jack In The Box stock traded down $0.78 on Wednesday, reaching $12.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,441,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,306. Jack In The Box has a 1 year low of $8.91 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The company has a market cap of $243.52 million, a P/E ratio of 3.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack In The Box

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Jack In The Box by 96.7% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Jack In The Box by 3,604.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,852 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Jack In The Box by 882.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Jack In The Box in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Jack In The Box by 206.6% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 11,567 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JACK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Jack In The Box from $18.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Jack In The Box from $25.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Jack In The Box from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Jack In The Box from $24.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Jack In The Box from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jack In The Box currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.18.

About Jack In The Box

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) is a publicly traded quick-service restaurant company best known for its Jack in the Box brand of fast-food restaurants. Founded in 1951 by Robert O. Peterson and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company has operated for decades as a franchisor and operator of drive-thru and dine-in restaurants. Its business model combines company-owned locations with franchise arrangements, and the company focuses on building brand recognition through menu innovation, marketing and service convenience.

The company’s core offerings center on a broad fast-food menu that includes hamburgers (notably the Jumbo Jack), tacos, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, sides and specialty limited-time items.