AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 267,526 shares were traded during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. 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 note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AECOM in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $119.25.

AECOM Trading Down 1.3 %

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $110.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.44. The firm has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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%. AECOM’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

AECOM announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at $3,601,837.52. The trade was a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AECOM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACM. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AECOM by 1.5% in the 3rd 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 period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in AECOM by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,459 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AECOM by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,830 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in AECOM by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,949 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in AECOM by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,992 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

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.