AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 267,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session's volume of 509,290 shares.The stock last traded at $106.26 and had previously closed at $107.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AECOM in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised 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, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of AECOM from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, AECOM presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $119.25.

AECOM Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50 day moving average price is $110.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from AECOM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM's payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

AECOM declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,601,837.52. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AECOM

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AECOM in the 4th quarter valued at about $458,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the construction company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AECOM by 40.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 768,266 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,339,000 after purchasing an additional 220,035 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of AECOM during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,928,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AECOM by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,162 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AECOM Company Profile

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.