Jabil (NYSE:JBL) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $133.96, but opened at $148.16. Jabil shares last traded at $146.17, with a volume of 982,781 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. Jabil had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 42.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS.

Jabil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors 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 is 2.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Jabil from $137.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Jabil from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Jabil from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Jabil from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Jabil from $135.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.50.

Insider Activity at Jabil

In other Jabil news, SVP Francis Mckay sold 11,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,051,816.97. The trade was a 22.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic E. Mccoy sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.70, for a total value of $474,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,908,981.10. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,689 shares of company stock worth $5,377,431 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Jabil

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Jabil by 11.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,116,308 shares of the technology company's stock worth $613,087,000 after purchasing an additional 520,672 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Jabil by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,692,560 shares of the technology company's stock worth $442,479,000 after buying an additional 9,685 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Jabil by 12,251.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,206,384 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $264,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,521 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Jabil by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,636,737 shares of the technology company's stock worth $178,058,000 after acquiring an additional 106,808 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Jabil by 29.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,383,062 shares of the technology company's stock worth $150,463,000 after purchasing an additional 310,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.39% of the company's stock.

Jabil Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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).