Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

ARMK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Aramark from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Aramark from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Aramark from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aramark currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.63.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $33.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Aramark has a 1 year low of $28.74 and a 1 year high of $45.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.27 and a 200 day moving average of $38.67. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). Aramark had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 1.33%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 21st. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Utah Retirement Systems grew its position in Aramark by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 41,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC increased its position in Aramark by 5.3% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 7,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aramark by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Aramark by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period.

Aramark Company Profile

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Aramark engages in the provision of food, facilities, and uniform services. It operates through the following segments: Food and Support Services United States (FSS United States), Food and Support Services International (FSS International), and Uniform and Career Apparel (Uniform). The FSS United States segment offers food, hospitality and facility services for school districts, colleges and universities, healthcare facilities, businesses, sports, entertainment and recreational venues, conference and convention centers, national and state parks, and correctional institutions.