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Jacobs (JEC) Initiates Quarterly Cash Dividend Program

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Renowned construction company, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. recently declared initiation of its cash dividend program.  As approved by its board of directors, the company will be paying a quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share on Mar 17 to shareholders of record on Feb 17.

Over the last one year, Jacobs’ shares recorded a return of 57.32% – outperforming 47.34% return provided by the Zacks categorized Engineering/R&D Services industry.

Moving Ahead

The cash dividend initiation is a remarkable milestone for Jacobs. The move has been undertaken to provide higher value to shareholders and reflects the company’s robust long-term financial outlook, expectations for a solid operating performance and anticipation of solid free cash flow generation.

In addition to its cash dividend program, Jacobs would continue with its ongoing share repurchase program. In Jul 2015, the company had announced a second phase $500-million share buyback program to be implemented over the next three fiscal years.  

Why a Rank #3 (Hold)?

Jacobs is aimed at improving its performance by streamlining operations, reducing costs and managing working capital more efficiently. In addition, it plans to reward shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks. However, headwinds like unfavorable commodity and energy prices, along with a stronger U.S. dollar, raise concerns.

Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock remained unchanged for both fiscal 2017 and 2018.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks within the industry are listed below:

Argan, Inc. (AGX - Free Report) currently boasts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has an average earnings surprise of 25.06% for the trailing four quarters. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AECOM (ACM - Free Report) has an average earnings surprise of 8.56% for the last four quarters and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

CalAtlantic Group, Inc. currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an average earnings surprise of 14.79% for the past four quarters.

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