Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (J Quick QuoteJ - Free Report) shares ended the last trading session 3.3% higher at $132.13. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 6.8% loss over the past four weeks.

Shares of Jacobs advanced after William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma highlighted in a research note that Jacobs's earnings growth and multiple expansion will result in the shares trading in a range between $140 and $160 over the next 12 months. He also added that the company has a "laundry list of catalysts" that will help the company to double EBITDA over the next five years. These include the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that is expected to contribute in the June quarter.

This construction and technical services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.61 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +14.2%. Revenues are expected to be $3.62 billion, up 7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Jacobs Engineering, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on J going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>