Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.42.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARMK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Aramark by 0.5% in 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 grew its stake in Aramark by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Aramark by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Aramark by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 2.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

NYSE:ARMK opened at $34.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.76 and its 200 day moving average is $37.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 1.60. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $29.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

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.