On Wednesday, KeyBanc maintained its Sector Weight rating for Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:J), following a year of significant developments for the company. Jacobs Engineering completed the spinoff of its CMS business to Amentum, enacted changes in senior management, and reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results, which met expectations.
The company's guidance also matched its previous forecasts, predicting mid-single to high-single-digit revenue growth and a 13.8-14% profit margin. The firm highlighted strong momentum in bookings, indicating a healthy influx of new contracts and business.
Jacobs Engineering's next move involves detailing its strategy post-spinoff and presenting a long-term framework at its upcoming investor event scheduled for February in Florida. This step is anticipated to provide investors with a clearer picture of the company's direction following its recent structural changes.
KeyBanc's analyst noted the importance of the forthcoming investor event for Jacobs Engineering to articulate its long-term strategy post-restructuring. The firm's current rating reflects a neutral stance, suggesting that the analyst sees the company's stock as fairly valued at the current levels, without any immediate catalysts that would change the investment thesis.
In other recent news, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. experienced a significant adjustment in its stock price target. Baird increased the target from $147 to $149, maintaining an Outperform rating due to the company's promising first quarter performance. The company reported a robust 22% increase in backlog, indicating strong future performance, particularly in the infrastructure, water, and life sciences sectors.
Despite lower than expected fourth-quarter results with adjusted earnings per share of $1.37 and revenue of $3 billion, Jacobs Engineering saw a strong backlog growth of 22.5% year over year to $21.8 billion. Looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2025, Jacobs Engineering is expected to undergo some restructuring. The company's guidance estimates adjusted earnings per share to be between $5.80 and $6.20, expecting mid-to-high single digit revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.8% to 14%.
In addition to these financial developments, Jacobs Engineering completed the spin-off of its government services businesses. This move is expected to allow the company to operate more efficiently.
InvestingPro Insights
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:J) presents a mixed financial picture according to recent InvestingPro data. The company's market capitalization stands at $16.59 billion, with a P/E ratio of 29.21, suggesting a relatively high valuation compared to earnings. This aligns with an InvestingPro Tip indicating that the stock is trading at a high P/E ratio relative to near-term earnings growth.
Despite recent challenges, including a significant stock price decline over the last week (-10.54% total return) and downward earnings revisions by analysts, Jacobs Engineering has shown resilience in some areas. The company has maintained profitability over the last twelve months and has a track record of raising its dividend for six consecutive years, with a current dividend yield of 0.87%.
InvestingPro data reveals that Jacobs' revenue for the last twelve months as of Q4 2024 was $11.5 billion, with a gross profit margin of 24.63%. However, the company experienced a revenue decline of 29.67% during this period, which corresponds with the InvestingPro Tip suggesting that analysts anticipate a sales decline in the current year.
For investors seeking a more comprehensive analysis, InvestingPro offers additional insights with 8 more tips available for Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. These tips could provide valuable context for the company's performance and future prospects, especially in light of the upcoming investor event mentioned in the article.
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