Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Short Interest Down 13.5% in March

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,860,000 shares, a drop of 13.5% from the March 15th total of 5,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Jabil Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Jabil stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.99. The company had a trading volume of 802,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,779. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.40. Jabil has a fifty-two week low of $75.48 and a fifty-two week high of $156.94.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL) last posted 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 company 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jabil will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Jabil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Jabil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on JBL. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Jabil from $141.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Jabil from $151.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut Jabil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus cut Jabil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Stout sold 31,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 67,300 shares in the company, valued at $8,285,976. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Jabil news, EVP Gerald Creadon sold 3,000 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.62, for a total value of $406,860.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,434 shares in the company, valued at $8,874,159.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Stout sold 31,300 shares of Jabil stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.12, for a total value of $3,853,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,285,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,177 shares of company stock worth $11,665,039. Company insiders own 2.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jabil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBL. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in Jabil by 4.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jabil during the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in shares of Jabil by 10.5% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 83,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 7,933 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Jabil by 58.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 382,918 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,633,000 after purchasing an additional 141,511 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Jabil by 656.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 18,832 shares during the period. 93.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).