Analysts Set Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Price Target at $43.91

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.91.

ARMK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aramark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARMK. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Aramark by 40,750.0% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 817 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Aramark by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Aramark by 160.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 241.3% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aramark during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $43.21 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.54 and a 200-day moving average of $37.90. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.92 and a 12-month high of $44.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 1.28.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Aramark’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.31%.

About Aramark

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.