The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on AECOM (NYSE:ACM)

The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AECOM (NYSE:ACM) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the construction company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.77% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded AECOM from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 27th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AECOM from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on AECOM from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AECOM from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AECOM from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $119.38.

AECOM Price Performance

ACM opened at $116.31 on Friday. AECOM has a 12-month low of $82.23 and a 12-month high of $116.76. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $106.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.20. The company has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17.

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.03. AECOM had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that AECOM will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at AECOM

In other news, CFO Gaurav Kapoor sold 42,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,601,837.52. This trade represents a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of AECOM by 12.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AECOM during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,085,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AECOM during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $741,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of AECOM by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 87,301 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after buying an additional 6,003 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in AECOM by 24.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 203,281 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,917,000 after acquiring an additional 39,801 shares during the last quarter. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.