Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Stock Price

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

ARMK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Aramark from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.23.

Aramark Stock Performance

Aramark stock opened at $38.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41 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 has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $42.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.10.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.001 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.01%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aramark by 6.4% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 5,846 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 69.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 11,144 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Aramark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Aramark by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 111,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,335,000 after buying an additional 19,606 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.