Financial Comparison: Jacobs Solutions (J) and Its Rivals

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) is one of 203 publicly-traded companies in the “Professional Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Jacobs Solutions to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

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’ rivals have a beta of 0.96, indicating that their average stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jacobs Solutions	$12.03 billion	$289.34 million	55.73
Jacobs Solutions Competitors	$3.29 billion	$228.38 million	37.24

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

Profitability

This table compares Jacobs Solutions and its rivals’ 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	-0.13%	35.53%	4.39%

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 2.5% and pay out -163.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Jacobs Solutions has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Jacobs Solutions lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.7% of Jacobs Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Jacobs Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jacobs Solutions	0	6	5	0	2.45
Jacobs Solutions Competitors	1591	6484	9186	433	2.48

Jacobs Solutions presently has a consensus target price of $156.78, indicating a potential downside of 0.24%. As a group, “Professional Services” companies have a potential upside of 28.25%. Given Jacobs Solutions’ rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Jacobs Solutions has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Jacobs Solutions rivals 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.