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Shares of Jacobs Engineering rise following an upgrade by JPMorgan

One of the latest signs that engineering companies are recovering from the recession is simply the following: JPMorgan analysts upgraded Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE:JEC), one of the few publicly traded engineering companies. This positive analysis prompted the stock to rise 3.3 percent, to $45.68 during yesterday’s afternoon trading.

According to the Businessweek article, the JPMorgan analyst lifted his rating on the stock to

“Overweight” from “Neutral,” suggesting Jacobs’ margins should stay stronger than most of its peers, despite a heavily competitive industry. He raised his earnings forecast for this year and next, citing his expectation of improving construction demand and a belief that Jacobs should see its margins hit their worst point within the next few quarters. Levine also noted the company’s strong balance sheet should allow it to pursue acquisitions. Recent partnerships should also position the company for growth in new markets, he said.

Such news is promising in what has been an otherwise chaotic and unpredictable period for engineers. We can only hope that this positive analysis is the first in a series of many to follow.

Has your company recovered from the recession?

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Posted by Ken.Kabaki on Mar 25th, 2010 and filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

3 Responses for “Shares of Jacobs Engineering rise following an upgrade by JPMorgan”

  1. Kevin S. says:
    March 25, 2010 at 8:59 am

    Forgive me for playing devil’s advocate but do you think that a financial analysis by a financial entity is entirely indicative of the overall state of affairs in our industry. The businessweek piece does not cite any substantial evidence regarding the basis of their analysis. I think the analysis was merely an attempt to arouse speculative interest to drive up the stock price.

    Reply
    • admin says:
      March 29, 2010 at 7:08 am

      March 29 (Bloomberg) — Valecha Engineering Ltd., an Indian construction company, rose to a two-year high in Mumbai trading after announcing it plans to sell preferential shares to the company’s founders, according to a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The stock surged 15 percent to 168.25 rupees as of 9:14 a.m. in Mumbai, set for its highest close since Jan. 18, 2008.

      Reply
  2. Jack Sampson, EI says:
    March 25, 2010 at 8:41 am

    It is extremely promising to hear of such positive news.
    In my industry, bridge consulting, we are experiencing an slight increase in new projects. unfortunately this have not been enough to prompt an increase in the workforce. we are fortunately getting more hours and at least now we are not billing to overhead as much. better yet, the dark cloud of uncertainty in slowly lifting.
    Thanks for highlighting such a positive point.
    Jack, EI

    Reply

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