Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARMK. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aramark from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Aramark from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $42.50 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aramark from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Aramark from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.68.

Aramark Stock Down 1.2 %

ARMK stock opened at $37.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 1.62. Aramark has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 64,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Aramark by 9.7% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Aramark by 0.8% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 329,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 10,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter.

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.