Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.89.
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A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARMK shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Aramark from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Aramark from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aramark in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aramark by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Aramark by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter.
Aramark Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of ARMK opened at $35.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.55. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $28.74 and a fifty-two week high of $45.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.
Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). Aramark had a net margin of 1.33% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.
Aramark Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 22nd were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.57%.
About Aramark
Aramark engages in the provision of food, facilities, and uniform services. It operates through the following segments: Food and Support Services United States (FSS United States), Food and Support Services International (FSS International), and Uniform and Career Apparel (Uniform). The FSS United States segment offers food, hospitality and facility services for school districts, colleges and universities, healthcare facilities, businesses, sports, entertainment and recreational venues, conference and convention centers, national and state parks, and correctional institutions.
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Source: marketbeat.com