Critical Survey: Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) & Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN)

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) and Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Jacobs Solutions has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Qfin has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Jacobs Solutions and Qfin”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jacobs Solutions	$11.50 billion	1.52	$821.09 million	$4.01	36.52
Qfin	$2.35 billion	1.95	$858.21 million	$7.08	4.11

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

Dividends

Jacobs Solutions pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Qfin pays an annual dividend of $1.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Jacobs Solutions pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Qfin pays out 19.5% 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 raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Qfin is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.7% of Jacobs Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Qfin shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Jacobs Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of Qfin shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Jacobs Solutions and Qfin’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jacobs Solutions	4.16%	17.13%	6.15%
Qfin	38.66%	30.74%	13.78%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Jacobs Solutions and Qfin, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jacobs Solutions	0	3	6	0	2.67
Qfin	0	0	3	0	3.00

Jacobs Solutions currently has a consensus price target of $155.25, indicating a potential upside of 6.01%. Qfin has a consensus price target of $51.73, indicating a potential upside of 77.66%. Given Qfin’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Qfin is more favorable than Jacobs Solutions.

Summary

Qfin beats Jacobs Solutions on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jacobs Solutions

Jacobs Solutions Inc. provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments. The company offers cyber, data analytics, systems and software application integration and consulting, enterprise level and mission IT, design, nuclear, and enterprise level operations and maintenance services; software development, testing, mission integration, program management, research, development, test, evaluation services, training, and environmental remediation services; and other technical consulting solutions, as well as construction and construction management services. It also provides consulting services for consumer and manufacturing, defense and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, health and life sciences, and transport industries. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Qfin

Qifu Technology, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. It provides credit-driven services that matches borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services; and platform services, including loan facilitation and post-facilitation services to financial institution partners under intelligence credit engine, referral services, and risk management software-as-a-service. The company also offers e-commerce loans, enterprise loans, and invoice loans to SME owners. It serves financial institutions, consumers, and small- and micro-enterprises. The company was formerly known as 360 DigiTech, Inc. and changed its name to Qifu Technology, Inc. in March 2023. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.