Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Key Points

• Aramark's rating was upgraded to Strong-Buy by Baird R W, highlighting a positive outlook for the company's stock.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Aramark, with the consensus now at $44.27, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• In its latest earnings report, Aramark matched expectations with an EPS of $0.40 and reported a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.7%.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Baird R W from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ARMK. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Aramark from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Aramark and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.27.

Aramark Stock Down 0.5%

ARMK stock opened at $39.36 on Wednesday. Aramark has a one year low of $29.92 and a one year high of $44.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.75 and a 200-day moving average of $37.99.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. Aramark had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 1.7% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 48.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 2,067 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 83.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 3.4% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 553.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 32,006 shares during the period.

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.

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