Short Interest in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Decreases By 10.8%

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a decline of 10.8% from the January 15th total of 1,950,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 807,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on J. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:J traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.37. 968,661 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,047. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.26. The firm has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.72. Jacobs Solutions has a one year low of $110.95 and a one year high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of J. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,637,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,597,564 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,155,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,626,000 after purchasing an additional 10,174 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 933.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,109,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,988 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,649,000 after buying an additional 449,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,809,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,746,000 after buying an additional 157,086 shares during the last quarter. 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.