Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ARMK. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aramark presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.59.

Aramark Stock Down 1.3 %

ARMK opened at $36.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.95 and a 200 day moving average of $36.95. Aramark has a 12 month low of $28.30 and a 12 month high of $42.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Aramark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Aramark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Aramark by 112.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 965 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.