Jabil Charms Wall Street Analyst Audience
Jabil Circuit Stk Up 8% On Bullish Analyst Meeting Thurs
Dow Jones Newswires -- March 24, 2000
By Scott Eden
NEW YORK -- Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) charmed an audience of Wall Street analysts at its annual conference with investment firms Thursday with an overview and update of its business plans.
The meeting prompted a slew of bullish research notes from the likes of Goldman Sachs & Co., Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., Salomon Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers Inc. But as of yet there were no increases to earnings forecasts or investment recommendations, which were, for the most part, as high as possible to begin with.
After a buy imbalance delayed trading in Jabil shares until 10:05 a.m. EDT, the NYSE-listed stock recently changed hands at 86 11/16, up 5 15/16, or 7.4%. Volume stood at 1.2 million shares, already nearly double the daily average. Jabil has seen its stock more than double in value over the last year; a 2-for-1 stock split is set for March 30.
According to First Call/Thomson Financial, analysts expect the company to earn 41 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter ending in May, up from 29 cents a year earlier, and $1.57 in fiscal 2000, up from $1.12 for the previous 12 months.
Jabil, a contract manufacturer of personal computers and other electronic equipment, held the meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla., its headquarters, with about 80 analysts attending, according to a company spokeswoman.
At Jabil's meeting with analysts, top company managers, including chairman and chief executive William Morean, "reviewed current plant-expansion programs in Brazil, Hungary, Mexico and Idaho," wrote Herve Francois, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, in a report to clients. "These new capacity expansions should support our estimate of 35% revenue growth in" fiscal-year 2001, he said. Francois, like most of his colleagues, rates Jabil stock a buy.
Jabil last week reported second-quarter earnings that met Wall Street expectations, and reiterated its fiscal-year guidance, which targets revenue of $3.5 billion, up 55% from 1999, on per-share earnings of $1.57.
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