Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,910,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 2,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Jabil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JBL traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $143.90. 760,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,439,935. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $134.51 and its 200-day moving average is $119.92. Jabil has a fifty-two week low of $95.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.94.

Jabil (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The technology company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 4.81%. Jabil's revenue was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jabil will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBL. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Jabil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Jabil from $157.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on Jabil from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Jabil from $137.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jabil presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jabil news, 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 sale, the director now owns 139,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,346,767.60. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Crowley sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total value of $173,645.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,336,411.44. The trade was a 6.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,689 shares of company stock valued at $4,902,631 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jabil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBL. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Jabil by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the technology company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Jabil by 6.1% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 29,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,173,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Jabil during the second quarter valued at $298,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Jabil in the 2nd quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Jabil by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,366 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 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).