Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.63.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARMK. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 2nd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Aramark from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Aramark from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 8th.

Insider Activity at Aramark

In other news, SVP Lauren A. Harrington sold 9,452 shares of Aramark stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $401,520.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 64,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,723,222.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Aramark news, SVP Lauren A. Harrington sold 9,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $401,520.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 64,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,723,222.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lynn Mckee sold 30,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $1,308,489.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 281,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,961,576.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aramark in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aramark by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,897,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,358,000 after buying an additional 198,530 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $37.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.56 and a 200 day moving average of $38.77. Aramark has a 12-month low of $28.74 and a 12-month high of $45.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 1.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Aramark’s payout ratio is currently 50.57%.

Aramark Company Profile

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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.