Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.42.

ARMK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Aramark Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ARMK opened at $34.13 on Tuesday. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $29.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at $1,874,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Aramark by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 891,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,268,000 after buying an additional 315,401 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Aramark in the 4th quarter worth $440,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Aramark by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Company Profile

Aramark provides food and facilities services to education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Food and Support Services United States, and Food and Support Services International. The company offers food-related managed services, including dining, catering, food service management, and convenience-oriented retail services; non-clinical food and food-related support services, such as patient food and nutrition, retail food, environmental services, and procurement services; and plant operations and maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, grounds keeping, and capital project management services.