Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.89.

A number of research firms have recently commented on J. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 4.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 12,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:J opened at $128.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $135.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.57. Jacobs Solutions has a 12-month low of $110.95 and a 12-month high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.92%.

Jacobs Solutions Company Profile

Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments.