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Investing.com-- Truist downgraded its rating and price target on Jack In The Box Inc (NASDAQ:JACK) on Monday evening, citing concerns over extended underperformance in the fast food chain’s same-store sales.
Truist downgraded JACK to Hold from Buy, and slashed its price target to $22 from $51.
Truist said the downgrade was driven chiefly by expectations of continued underperformance in same-store sales, which presented a lower outlook for valuation.
The brokerage said JACK was in need of a strategic plan to drive operations, and also required more than just a financial restructuring to help with a turnaround.
Truist said that it does not expect JACK’s “Jack-on-Track” turnaround plan– which was announced in April– to create “significant shareholder value.”
“A large real estate sale could create significant shareholder value, but we do not believe that is being contempleted,” Truist said, stating that the sale of Del Taco and the goal of lowering net debt presented only marginal positives.
Truist noted that JACK’s same-store sales had lagged their peers in the burger chain sector for about seven consecutive quarters, with recent data also pointing to worsening trends in the first half of May.
The brokerage raised concerns over JACK’s menu innovation and marketing pipeline, which may not be as strong as its peers’. Truist also flagged a need for a greater sense of urgency in management to improve JACK operations.
Still, Truist noted that JACK’s sustained underperformance could be linked to broader weakness in U.S. consumer spending, especially amid lower-income customers.
Truist also noted that other upside catalysts could be from management having a better turnaround plan than signaled, plans for more real estate monetization than anticipated, and bigger-than-expected returns from the sale of Del Taco.