AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $120.38.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ACM shares. KeyCorp cut their target price on AECOM from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AECOM in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on AECOM from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AECOM from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AECOM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AECOM by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 893,903 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,487,000 after purchasing an additional 6,513 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in AECOM by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 871,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $93,136,000 after buying an additional 5,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AECOM by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 768,266 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,339,000 after buying an additional 220,035 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

AECOM Stock Performance

Shares of ACM opened at $107.14 on Monday. AECOM has a 12 month low of $82.23 and a 12 month high of $118.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $108.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.19.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.21. AECOM had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 2.50%. Equities research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AECOM declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. AECOM’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

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.