AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $119.00 to $129.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. AECOM traded as high as $116.76 and last traded at $115.28, with a volume of 127418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.56.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ACM. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AECOM in a report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $119.38.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AECOM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACM. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AECOM during the third quarter valued at $177,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of AECOM by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 137,918 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,243,000 after acquiring an additional 18,810 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of AECOM by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 17,986 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 4,102 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in AECOM by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,958 shares of the construction company's stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AECOM by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,270,408 shares of the construction company's stock worth $233,918,000 after purchasing an additional 14,511 shares in the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AECOM Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AECOM will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from AECOM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM's payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

AECOM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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