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AECOM to Lead Design for Edmonton's Capital Line South Extension

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Building on its ongoing partnership with the City of Edmonton, AECOM (ACM - Free Report) has been selected as the design partner for the Capital Line South Light Rail Transit Extension project. The company will work with Capital Line Design-Build Ltd., a member of the Ledcor Group, to deliver Phase 1 of the project.

The project, located in Alberta, Canada, involves a 4.5-kilometer light rail extension from Century Park to just north of Ellerslie Road. It includes two new stations and a storage and maintenance facility for light rail vehicles.

AECOM, as the design lead on the Capital Line Design-Build Ltd. team, will handle the infrastructure and systems design. The new line will run along the west side of 111 Street. It will feature an underpass at 23 Avenue, bridges over Blackmud Creek and Anthony Henday Drive and new stations at Twin Brooks and Heritage Valley North. An additional contractor will deliver the new light rail vehicles.

The company has previously worked with the City of Edmonton on several projects, including the development of a policy framework to integrate light rail transit with land use planning. AECOM also produced Low Floor LRT Design Guidelines and updated the High Floor LRT Design Guidelines. It also served as the Owner’s Engineer for the Valley Line light rail transit project, a 27-kilometer urban rail line being developed in two phases, connecting Mill Woods in the southeast to Lewis Farms in the west through downtown Edmonton.

ACM continues its strong partnership with the City of Edmonton, supporting the expansion of sustainable transportation options to meet growing urban mobility needs. With extensive experience in transportation projects across Canada, including its recognized work on Edmonton’s Valley Line, the company is well-positioned to deliver quality infrastructure design for the Capital Line South extension.

ACM’s Backlog Growth Signals Positive Momentum Ahead

AECOM has been witnessing robust prospects in each of its segments. It has a good visibility of a strong backlog and pipelines for the upcoming quarters. Impressively, state and local budgets are robust and private sector clients are investing to restore capacity and adapt to water and energy transition impacts. Growth in the U.K. water market is poised to accelerate in the next five years due to the expected near doubling of AMP8 funding, where ACM has existing experience with nearly every large water utility involved.

Owing to the improving global scenario, which is fostering infrastructural demand around the globe, there has been an increase in demand for ACM’s services. This improving trend is reflected in the company’s backlog levels.

As of the fiscal third-quarter end, the total backlog was $23.36 billion compared with $23.21 billion reported in the prior-year period. The current backlog level includes 54.8% contracted backlog growth. The design business backlog rose 3% to $21.89 billion. The upside was driven by a near-record win rate and continued strong end-market trends.

The company’s net service revenues or NSR — defined as revenues excluding subcontractor and other direct costs — have been benefiting from strength across core transportation, water and environment markets. Adjusted NSR for the fiscal third quarter rose 8% year over year.

ACM’s Stock Performance

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The company’s shares have moved up 17.2% in the past three months compared with the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry’s 15.6% growth, with ongoing contract wins expected to boost prospects. Global infrastructure spending trends remain strong, providing further opportunities for AECOM’s continued expansion.

ACM’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ACM currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are:

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Sterling Infrastructure has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.4%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRL’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 9.7% and 26.6%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM - Free Report) presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). HWM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.9%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 12.6% and 40.8%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has topped earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 9.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPTI’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 16.1% and 76.6%, respectively, from prior-year levels.

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