Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)’s share price dropped 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $37.75 and last traded at $37.78. Approximately 1,121,973 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,047,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.97.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARMK. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 100.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Aramark in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aramark by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Aramark by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter.

Aramark Company Profile

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.