Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Trading 3.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) rose 3.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $37.36 and last traded at $37.17. Approximately 225,306 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,021,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARMK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aramark presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.10.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Aramark by 100.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Aramark during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Aramark by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Aramark by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter.

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.