AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $119.38.

ACM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AECOM from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.34, for a total transaction of $4,890,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,601,837.52. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AECOM

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in AECOM by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,757 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AECOM by 9.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AECOM during the first quarter valued at about $1,085,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AECOM by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,242 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in AECOM by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AECOM Trading Up 3.3 %

ACM opened at $116.31 on Wednesday. AECOM has a 12 month low of $82.23 and a 12 month high of $116.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.16 and a 200 day moving average of $96.22. The firm has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

AECOM announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

About AECOM

AECOM, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional infrastructure consulting services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Americas, International, and AECOM Capital. The company offers planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, construction and program management, and investment and development services to public and private clients.