Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.59.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of ARMK opened at $36.22 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a twelve month low of $28.30 and a twelve month high of $42.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.95.

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

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid 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 presently 42.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Aramark by 7.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Aramark by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 69,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aramark in the second quarter valued at $211,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aramark in the second quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 33.6% during the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 1,100 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.