Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)’s share price traded down 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $37.16 and last traded at $37.38. 261,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,993,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARMK shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Aramark Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.80. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is 33.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Aramark by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Aramark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 360.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Aramark during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000.

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.