William Blair Lowers Earnings Estimates for ABM Industries

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM - Free Report) has recently received a downgrade in earnings estimates from William Blair. In their report issued on December 18th, equities research analyst T. Mulrooney revised the earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the first quarter of 2025. The updated estimate now stands at $0.79, slightly down from the previous forecast of $0.81.

Currently, analysts project that ABM Industries will achieve full-year earnings of $3.53 per share. Additionally, William Blair provided estimates for future earnings, predicting $0.94 for the third quarter of 2025, $1.03 for the fourth quarter of the same year, and $4.11 for the entire fiscal year of 2026.

Market Reactions and Analyst Ratings

Following this announcement, other analysts have also shared their perspectives on ABM Industries. For instance, Robert W. Baird raised their price target from $49.00 to $56.00, assigning the stock a "neutral" rating. Similarly, UBS Group also increased their target price to $56.00 and maintained a "neutral" rating. Truist Financial echoed this sentiment by lifting their price target from $49.00 to $55.00 while holding a "hold" rating on the stock.

Current Performance Metrics

Shares of ABM Industries opened at $51.14 and demonstrated a growth of 1.6% on the day. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion and displays a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.13. With a 50-day simple moving average of $55.36, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $39.64 and a high of $59.78 over the past year. Current financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71 and both a current and quick ratio of 1.38.

Recent Earnings Results

In its latest earnings report released on December 18th, ABM Industries revealed an EPS of $0.90 for the quarter. This figure exceeded analysts' consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The company recorded a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 12.93%, alongside a revenue of $2.18 billion, surpassing expectations of $2.08 billion. This marks a 4.0% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter the previous year, while EPS dropped from $1.01 from a year prior.

Institutional Investors' Insights

Several institutional investors have made changes to their holdings in ABM Industries recently. For example, the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake by 2.3% in the second quarter, totaling 31,800 shares valued at $1,608,000. In similar movements, the Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings by 2.0%, and Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC made a substantial increase, growing their stake by approximately 652,535.3% during the same period.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, ABM's CFO, Earl Ray Ellis, sold 40,000 shares of the company on October 14th for an average price of $53.96, equating to a transaction value of $2,158,400. This sale resulted in a 46.92% decrease in his shares, with current holdings valued at approximately $2,442,229.60. Insiders currently own about 1.04% of the company's stock.

Dividend Announcement

ABM Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, set to be paid on February 3rd. This increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.23 reflects the company's ongoing commitment to rewarding shareholders. The dividend yield currently stands at 2.07%, with a payout ratio of 43.80%.

Company Overview

ABM Industries Incorporated offers a range of facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions domestically and internationally through its various segments, which include Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions.

ABM, WilliamBlair, Earnings