Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Aramark has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Other firms, including Morgan Stanley and Baird R W, have issued positive updates, with price targets for the stock ranging from $44.00 to $47.00.
• Aramark reported a quarterly EPS of $0.40, meeting estimates, and a 5.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $4.63 billion.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ARMK. UBS Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Aramark and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Aramark from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Aramark from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.44.

Aramark Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of ARMK stock traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $40.50. 1,013,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,025,063. The company has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.67 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Aramark has a one year low of $29.92 and a one year high of $44.49.

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

Aramark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 4.3% during 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. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,504 shares of the company's stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 438 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.