Why Is AECOM (ACM) Stock Down Today?

AECOM stock fell 7.01% to $62.35 in morning trading on Monday after the infrastructure consulting firm reported a third-quarter earnings miss and a $337 million pre-tax charge. The stock opened with a modest 0.7% gap up but quickly reversed course as investors reacted to the earnings report and a string of downgraded price targets from analysts.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.50, significantly below the $1.47 estimate. Revenue of $3.586 billion beat the $2.024 billion forecast but was accompanied by the large non-cash charge, which weighed on sentiment. The earnings call highlighted record quarterly wins and a 13% increase in backlog, but the negative earnings surprise and charge overshadowed these positives. Analysts at Baird and BofA cut their price targets for ACM, with BofA lowering its target to $73 from $87 and Baird to $73 from $87 as well. Barclays and Keybanc also reduced their price targets, signaling a broad downgrade in expectations for the stock.

The intraday session reflected the sharp sell-off, with the stock falling from an opening of $67.50 to a low of $62.11. Volume was 1.2 million shares, 0.7 times the 3-month daily average. Recent insider transactions showed three buys by executives totaling $699,000 in the last 90 days. No insider sales were reported during that period. Congressional trades included three sell transactions in the last 90 days, most recently on July 21.

What To Watch

The stock is set to report no earnings in the near term. Investors should monitor the breadth of analyst coverage and any follow-up commentary on the earnings call, as well as potential reactions to the company's guidance for future periods.