Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.33.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARMK. Citigroup started coverage on Aramark in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 40,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 817 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Aramark by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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.

Aramark Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of ARMK traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.23. 1,922,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,479. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.92 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.93.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. Aramark's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.31%.

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.