Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Short Interest Up 7.9% in May

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the May 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 588,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE J opened at $140.98 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.92. Jacobs Solutions has a twelve month low of $114.09 and a twelve month high of $154.50. The company has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.07. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 3.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Jacobs Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Jacobs Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $168.00 to $163.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Jacobs Solutions from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jacobs Solutions

In other news, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total value of $229,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 233,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,711,532.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.86, for a total value of $1,007,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 548,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,855,132.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin C. Berryman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.20, for a total value of $229,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 233,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,711,532.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,000 shares of company stock worth $3,503,195. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jacobs Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 5.0% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1,794.7% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 3,069 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 7,306.2% in 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 in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 1.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,505,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 27.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,697,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,436,000 after buying an additional 805,657 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.