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

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

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $139.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $137.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.45. The company has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Jacobs Solutions has a one year low of $108.64 and a one year high of $150.54.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Jacobs Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on J. Raymond James upgraded Jacobs Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark cut shares of Jacobs Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $166.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of J. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 6.1% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,326,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,736,000 after buying an additional 192,166 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,212,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,366,000 after acquiring an additional 127,605 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Jacobs Solutions by 3.2% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,040,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,263,000 after purchasing an additional 32,650 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $99,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,405 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

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.