AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 2,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 845,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of AECOM from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of AECOM from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $107.00) on shares of AECOM in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AECOM

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 2,561,327 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,215,000 after purchasing an additional 472,944 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of AECOM by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,339,185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $206,176,000 after purchasing an additional 122,015 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in AECOM by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,752,487 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $154,464,000 after acquiring an additional 235,350 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AECOM in the 4th quarter worth about $159,060,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in AECOM by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,628,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $143,573,000 after acquiring an additional 258,250 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AECOM Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ACM traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $98.25. 1,143,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 791,624. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.08. AECOM has a one year low of $74.40 and a one year high of $102.26. The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of -1,091.56, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The construction company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. AECOM had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 1.61%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AECOM will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

AECOM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. AECOM’s payout ratio is -977.78%.

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.