Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) Board Declares Share Repurchase Plan

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 4th, RTT News reports. The company plans 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Solutions Price Performance

Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $133.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.46 and its 200 day moving average is $141.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Jacobs Solutions has a 52-week low of $110.95 and a 52-week high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Jacobs Solutions’s payout ratio is 18.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on J. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jacobs Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.89.

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.