AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $118.56 and last traded at $116.74, with a volume of 1268474 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $116.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ACM. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AECOM in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of AECOM from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $119.38.

AECOM Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.04. 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 market cap of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.53, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.17.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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 posted $1.01 EPS. AECOM’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.73%.

AECOM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AECOM

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,601,837.52. The trade was a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in AECOM by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,339,185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $206,176,000 after buying an additional 122,015 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AECOM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,270,408 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $233,918,000 after purchasing an additional 14,511 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in AECOM by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,989,238 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $205,429,000 after purchasing an additional 289,513 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted 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 valued at $154,464,000 after purchasing an additional 235,350 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 valued at $143,573,000 after purchasing an additional 258,250 shares during the period. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.