Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) shares fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.16 and last traded at $37.38. 261,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,993,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARMK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 boosted their target price on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41 and a beta of 1.64.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.105 dividend. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 33.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Aramark in the third quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 360.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000.

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.