SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP reminds investors in AECOM (NYSE:ACM) that the Lead Plaintiff deadline is October 31, 2016 in the securities class action filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired securities of AECOM between February 11, 2015 and August 15, 2016 and suffered over $50,000 in losses contact Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. For more information visit:
https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/ACM
or contact Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000 or emailing ACM@hbsslaw.com.
Throughout the class period, Defendants repeatedly emphasized AECOM’s strong free cash flow and the benefits of the Company’s October 17, 2014 acquisition of URS Corporation (“URS”).
On August 10, 2016, AECOM filed an amendment to its Form 10-K, stating that “management discovered deficiencies associated with the acquisition of URS Corporation related to (a) the alignment of accounting policies specific to forward loss reserves and (b) income tax accounts.” AECOM’s auditor disclosed, “[i]n our opinion…AECOM has not maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2015.”
Shortly thereafter, Spruce Point Capital Management published an August 16, 2016 report containing a forensic financial and accounting analysis of AECOM’s recent financial results and condition. Spruce Point concluded that “AECOM’s stock is worth approximately 33% - 45% less than its current price.” Spruce Point observed that the “CEO’s $18 million compensation in 2015 [was] heavily tied to its aggressive interpretation of its Free Cash Flow per share,” and asserted that AECOM had misrepresented the costs and benefits of the URS acquisition.
In reaction to this news, the per share price of AECOM securities fell approximately 4.7% to close at $33.44 on August 16, 2016. Since then, the share price has fallen another 17%, closing at $27.60 on September 20, 2016.
“We’re currently looking into the metrics Spruce highlighted and the insider selling during the class period,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding AECOM should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 510-725-3000 or email ACM@hbsslaw.com.
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