Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,060,000 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the April 30th total of 8,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARMK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Aramark Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,509,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,429. The company has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $29.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.05.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Aramark had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Aramark's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.31%.

Institutional Trading of Aramark

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Aramark by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,593,734 shares of the company's stock worth $507,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,263,817 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aramark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,949,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,511,152 shares of the company's stock worth $317,551,000 after buying an additional 1,940,214 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 13,037,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,059,000 after buying an additional 1,582,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP grew its position in shares of Aramark by 135.4% in the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 2,690,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,387,000 after buying an additional 1,547,792 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.