Jacobs Solutions (J) Competitors

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) and AECOM (NYSE:ACM) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, J or ACM?

Jacobs Solutions has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AECOM. AECOM is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jacobs Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jacobs Solutions	$11.50B	1.62	$821.09M	$4.01	38.76
AECOM	$16.11B	1.08	$402.27M	$4.59	28.60

Which has more volatility & risk, J or ACM?

Jacobs Solutions has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AECOM has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of J or ACM?

85.7% of Jacobs Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.4% of AECOM shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Jacobs Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of AECOM shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is J or ACM more profitable?

Jacobs Solutions has a net margin of 4.16% compared to AECOM's net margin of 3.82%. AECOM's return on equity of 27.87% beat Jacobs Solutions' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jacobs Solutions	4.16%	17.13%	6.15%
AECOM	3.82%	27.87%	5.78%

Is J or ACM a better dividend stock?

Jacobs Solutions pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. AECOM pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Jacobs Solutions pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AECOM pays out 22.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Jacobs Solutions has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and AECOM has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Jacobs Solutions is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend J or ACM?

Jacobs Solutions presently has a consensus price target of $157.71, indicating a potential upside of 1.47%. AECOM has a consensus price target of $133.20, indicating a potential upside of 1.48%. Given AECOM's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AECOM is more favorable than Jacobs Solutions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jacobs Solutions	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56
AECOM	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media favor J or ACM?

In the previous week, Jacobs Solutions had 11 more articles in the media than AECOM. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Jacobs Solutions and 12 mentions for AECOM. Jacobs Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat AECOM's score of 0.76 indicating that Jacobs Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Jacobs Solutions	16 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AECOM	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Jacobs Solutions beats AECOM on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.