Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Up 1.1% – What’s Next?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)’s stock price rose 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $38.44 and last traded at $38.45. Approximately 180,776 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,938,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARMK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 raised their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.61 and a 200 day moving average of $37.70. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.45 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. Aramark’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 1.10%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 20.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Aramark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 58,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 97.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Aramark in the third quarter worth approximately $474,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Aramark by 112.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 965 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.