Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Short Interest Up 33.3% in January

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,080,000 shares, an increase of 33.3% from the December 31st total of 1,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 748,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,145,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,444,000 after acquiring an additional 73,566 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,263,000 after acquiring an additional 32,650 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 760,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 650,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,099,000 after purchasing an additional 107,849 shares during the period. 85.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James upgraded Jacobs Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.00.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Jacobs Solutions stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.99. 936,521 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,654. Jacobs Solutions has a 52-week low of $110.95 and a 52-week high of $150.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.78 and a 200-day moving average of $141.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.72.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.71). Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 5.16%. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is 18.33%.

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.