AECOM (NYSE:ACM) Short Interest Up 41.3% in January

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) was the recipient of a large 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 company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 932,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AECOM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AECOM by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in AECOM by 390.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 260 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in AECOM during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of AECOM by 4,242.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 304 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of AECOM during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AECOM Price Performance

Shares of ACM opened at $100.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14. AECOM has a fifty-two week low of $82.23 and a fifty-two week high of $118.56.

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

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

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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from AECOM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. AECOM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ACM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AECOM in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AECOM from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AECOM from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of AECOM from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.