AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Short Interest Update

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, a growth of 41.3% from the January 15th total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 932,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AECOM

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AECOM by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,718,371 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $397,196,000 after buying an additional 373,991 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in AECOM by 17.0% during the third 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 worth $205,429,000 after purchasing an additional 289,513 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AECOM during the fourth quarter worth about $190,495,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in AECOM by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,360,510 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $145,330,000 after purchasing an additional 38,177 shares in the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AECOM from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 27th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of AECOM from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AECOM from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AECOM from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AECOM currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.38.

AECOM Trading Up 0.3 %

ACM opened at $102.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. AECOM has a 52 week low of $82.23 and a 52 week high of $118.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.81. The firm has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.19.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.21. AECOM had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 26.84%. On average, research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

AECOM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, November 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AECOM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.55%.

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.