Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $39.08 and last traded at $38.75, with a volume of 42955 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARMK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Aramark from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aramark from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Aramark from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aramark presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.95.

Aramark Trading Up 0.9 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 1.93%. Aramark’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.095 dividend. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 15.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Aramark by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,584,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,917,000 after buying an additional 139,693 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,712,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,141,000 after acquiring an additional 98,506 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 5.5% in the first quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 17,822,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,602,000 after acquiring an additional 923,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 5.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,391,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,501,000 after purchasing an additional 681,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Aramark by 18.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,731,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 720,738 shares during the period.

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.