AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Short Interest Update

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, an increase of 41.3% from the January 15th total of 1,720,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 932,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of AECOM

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of AECOM by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,026 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 2,731 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in AECOM during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AECOM by 2,169.6% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 140,649 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,024,000 after buying an additional 134,452 shares during the period. Perbak Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of AECOM by 87.5% in the fourth quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP now owns 18,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 8,524 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of AECOM by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,664,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,844,000 after acquiring an additional 580,078 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.41% of the company’s stock.

AECOM Stock Performance

NYSE:ACM traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,246,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,723. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $107.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.97. AECOM has a 12-month low of $82.23 and a 12-month high of $118.56. The stock has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

AECOM Increases Dividend

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

AECOM declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on AECOM from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AECOM in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped 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, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, AECOM currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.38.

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.