Jack In The Box Analyst Roundup

Jack in the Box Inc. JACK beat Q4 revenue and EPS expectations Tuesday.

Investors responded positively to the news sending shares up 4.25 percent to $74.54 on Wednesday.

Analysts commented on the stock after the earnings news. Below are some highlights along with current ratings and price targets.

Barclays - Equal-Weight, $66 price target

“JACK is at ~26x forward, 3 turns above QSR peers, a reversal from the 1-2 turn discount one year ago. While their most recently EPS growth impressive, such is not sustainable, as evidenced by new LT guidance. The biggest new news is specific to EPS growth, guided mid-teens (previously not guided). Co-op comps are the focus, with Jack at 2-3 percent (unchanged) & Qdoba at MSD (up from 3-4 percent). On openings, Jack at 1-2 percent y-y, while Qdoba 40-70 co-op, +13-23 percent y-y (both unchanged). Restaurant margin at 19-20 percent, up from 18.5-19.5 percent, while G&A at 3.5-3.8 percent of system sales, tweaked from 3.5-4.0 percent.”

Wunderlich - Buy, $77 price target

“We continue to rate JACK as Buy, reflecting our confidence in management's operating plan, its strong operating fundamentals, better than most peer EPS growth, and its relatively unique defensive franchise business model. Recently trading at a discount to its QSR peers at 11.3x projected (unrevised) calendar 2015 EV/ EBITDA versus its QSR peer average of ~12.5x, we believe JACK's valuation will continue to improve as its strong operating momentum continues. Our price target of $77 is under review.”]

Jefferies - Buy, $71 price target

“We'd be buyers on relatively attractive 11.5x C15 EBITDA valuation for beat and raise story. We believe there is an opportunity to see another year of EPS upside in 2015, especially if Qdoba topline continues to perform in-line or ahead of expectations (benefiting from the new menu, food news & effective marketing efforts), and JIB can maintain its LSD SSS trends (helped by further improvements in speed of service, consistency and menu upgrades).”