Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)’s share price was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $37.08 and last traded at $37.41. Approximately 253,223 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,993,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ARMK shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.83.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Aramark by 3.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Aramark by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Aramark by 4.7% during the third quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 349 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.