Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Short Interest Update

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,560,000 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Jabil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Jabil from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Jabil from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Jabil from $160.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Jabil Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE JBL traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.87. The company had a trading volume of 912,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,442. Jabil has a 52-week low of $95.85 and a 52-week high of $174.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.28.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The technology company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.11. Jabil had a return on equity of 41.87% and a net margin of 4.71%. The company had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Jabil will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.66%.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In related news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.30, for a total transaction of $3,026,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 119,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,021,040.40. This represents a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 3,400 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.27, for a total value of $551,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,283. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,400 shares of company stock worth $12,804,458. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Jabil during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jabil during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Jabil by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 274 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Jabil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jabil Company Profile

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).