Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five 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 covered the stock in the last year is $156.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on J. Raymond James upgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Benchmark cut Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $166.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:J opened at $140.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.71. Jacobs Solutions has a 52-week low of $101.64 and a 52-week high of $150.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.71). Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is 18.33%.

Insider Activity at Jacobs Solutions

In other news, Director Christopher M.T. Thompson sold 1,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.85, for a total value of $286,313.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,069 shares in the company, valued at $6,346,108.65. This trade represents a 4.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.14, for a total value of $625,633.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,038.96. This trade represents a 14.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 27.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,697,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,436,000 after acquiring an additional 805,657 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 5,170.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 419,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,550,000 after purchasing an additional 411,123 shares in the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the third quarter valued at $46,168,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Jacobs Solutions by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,326,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,736,000 after purchasing an additional 192,166 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 7,306.2% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 138,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,223,000 after buying an additional 136,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

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.