Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Research Coverage Started at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock.

ARMK has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.42.

Aramark Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARMK stock opened at $36.72 on Monday. Aramark has a fifty-two week low of $29.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91 and a beta of 1.64.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.105 dividend. 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 yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARMK. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Aramark in the third quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aramark by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Aramark by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Aramark by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 581 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.