Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on ARMK. UBS Group increased their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aramark presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.59.

Aramark Price Performance

ARMK stock opened at $36.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 1 year low of $28.30 and a 1 year high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth $284,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $254,427,000 after acquiring an additional 441,711 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Aramark during the third quarter worth about $761,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aramark in the third quarter valued at about $309,000.

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.