Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.91.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARMK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aramark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Aramark Stock Performance

Aramark stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.79. 1,392,020 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,996,951. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92 and a beta of 1.28. Aramark has a one year low of $29.92 and a one year high of $43.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 1.97%. Aramark's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Aramark's payout ratio is 32.31%.

Institutional Trading of Aramark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aramark by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 116,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 24,984 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Aramark in the 1st quarter valued at $1,472,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Aramark by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 619,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Aramark by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 908,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,363,000 after purchasing an additional 16,879 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aramark by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 9,267 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 378 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.