Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.59.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ARMK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Aramark from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $42.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aramark from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Aramark Stock Performance

Shares of ARMK stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $40.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,292,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,211,971. 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's 50-day moving average is $39.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 1.63. Aramark has a 12 month low of $27.05 and a 12 month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Aramark's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Aramark's payout ratio is 42.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 6.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,714,443 shares of the company's stock worth $608,619,000 after buying an additional 896,288 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 70.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,329,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,618,000 after buying an additional 3,430,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 7.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,570,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,427,000 after acquiring an additional 441,711 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Aramark by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,731,963 shares of the company's stock worth $160,977,000 after buying an additional 720,738 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aramark by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,363,113 shares of the company's stock worth $169,028,000 after purchasing an additional 45,384 shares during the period.

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.