Head-To-Head Survey: Jacobs Solutions (J) vs. Its Peers

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) is one of 204 public companies in the “Professional Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Jacobs Solutions to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

Jacobs Solutions pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Jacobs Solutions pays out 51.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Professional Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.4% and pay out -166.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Jacobs Solutions has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Jacobs Solutions lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Jacobs Solutions has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jacobs Solutions’ competitors have a beta of 0.96, indicating that their average stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Jacobs Solutions and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jacobs Solutions	0	6	5	0	2.45
Jacobs Solutions Competitors	1620	6511	9186	435	2.48

Jacobs Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $156.78, indicating a potential downside of 1.01%. As a group, “Professional Services” companies have a potential upside of 27.18%. Given Jacobs Solutions’ competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Jacobs Solutions has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.7% of Jacobs Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Jacobs Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Jacobs Solutions and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jacobs Solutions	2.40%	23.96%	7.02%
Jacobs Solutions Competitors	0.35%	36.04%	4.43%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Jacobs Solutions and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jacobs Solutions	$12.03 billion	$289.34 million	56.16
Jacobs Solutions Competitors	$3.29 billion	$228.40 million	32.41

Jacobs Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Jacobs Solutions is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Jacobs Solutions competitors beat Jacobs Solutions on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Jacobs Solutions Company Profile

Jacobs Solutions Inc. is a global professional services company that provides consulting, advisory, engineering, design and project and program management services. Its work spans infrastructure, water, environmental services, transportation, energy and advanced facilities, including projects for life sciences and advanced manufacturing clients. The company serves public- and private-sector clients in markets around the world. Founded in 1947 by Joseph J. Jacobs, the business grew from an engineering firm into a multinational services provider.