Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.09 and last traded at $41.99, with a volume of 59922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARMK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Aramark from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aramark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.23.

Aramark Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.25 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.001 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.01%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 42.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 100.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Aramark in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Aramark by 360.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 319.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares in 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.