Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $42.09 and last traded at $41.99, with a volume of 59922 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ARMK. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aramark from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Aramark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.23.

Aramark Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.65 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.001 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 38.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Aramark by 100.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Aramark by 360.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Aramark in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 319.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares during 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.