Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jabil (NYSE:JBL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on JBL. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Jabil in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Jabil from $137.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.17.

Jabil Price Performance

NYSE JBL opened at $145.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $131.14 and its 200 day moving average is $118.31. Jabil has a fifty-two week low of $95.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. Jabil had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Jabil will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.07%.

Insider Transactions at Jabil

In related news, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total transaction of $1,430,701.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,051,816.97. This represents a 22.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 20,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $2,494,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,346,767.60. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,689 shares of company stock worth $5,377,431 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jabil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Jabil by 6.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jabil during the second quarter valued at $37,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jabil by 11.1% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jabil by 16.0% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 402,850 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,826,000 after acquiring an additional 55,450 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Jabil by 29.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,383,062 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $150,463,000 after purchasing an additional 310,590 shares in the last quarter. 93.39% of the stock is 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).