Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Short Interest Up 52.9% in February

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a growth of 52.9% from the January 31st total of 1,740,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 819,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on J. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.89.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Jacobs Solutions stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $122.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,278,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,464. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.23.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.39%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in J. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Jacobs Solutions by 44.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 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.