Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $47.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on ARMK. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Aramark Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ARMK opened at $38.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Aramark has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $42.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.70.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.42%.

Institutional Trading of Aramark

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Aramark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $716,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 7.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,427,000 after acquiring an additional 441,711 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 259,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,677,000 after acquiring an additional 35,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aramark by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,028,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Aramark by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,732,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,106,000 after purchasing an additional 14,839 shares during the last quarter.

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.