Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Short Interest Down 10.8% in January

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a drop of 10.8% from the January 15th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 807,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Down 0.8 %

Jacobs Solutions stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $129.12. 1,583,644 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 799,533. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.72. Jacobs Solutions has a 1-year low of $110.95 and a 1-year high of $150.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.96.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Jacobs Solutions's payout ratio is presently 23.92%.

Institutional Trading of Jacobs Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 32,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,199,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $498,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,682,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 224.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the company's stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 10.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Jacobs Solutions

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.