Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) Price Target to $152.00

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $167.00 to $152.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

J has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James raised Jacobs Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.89.

Jacobs Solutions Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE J traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $135.58. 85,771 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 804,771. Jacobs Solutions has a 1-year low of $101.64 and a 1-year high of $150.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.37. The firm has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.71.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $4.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Jacobs Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher M.T. Thompson sold 1,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.85, for a total transaction of $286,313.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 42,069 shares in the company, valued at $6,346,108.65. This trade represents a 4.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.14, for a total value of $625,633.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,038.96. This trade represents a 14.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Natixis increased its position in Jacobs Solutions by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 3,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 70,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.