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

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.42.

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

Aramark Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ARMK opened at $34.13 on Tuesday. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 1.60.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Aramark’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Aramark by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000.

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.