Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.23.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Aramark from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $42.50 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aramark from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Aramark by 70.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430,131 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Aramark by 822.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,677,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,073,000 after buying an additional 1,495,737 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aramark by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 17,822,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,602,000 after buying an additional 923,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Aramark by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,619,000 after buying an additional 896,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aramark by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,731,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 720,738 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Performance

Aramark stock opened at $37.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 1.62. Aramark has a 52-week low of $26.58 and a 52-week high of $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.33.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

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

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.