Brokerages Set Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) PT at $42.59

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.59.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARMK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Aramark Price Performance

Aramark stock opened at $37.90 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark during the second quarter worth approximately $854,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Aramark by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 58,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 97.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Aramark during the third quarter worth $474,000.

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.