Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Short Interest Update

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,150,000 shares, a decrease of 21.6% from the December 15th total of 6,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARMK. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Aramark by 100.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Aramark in the third quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Aramark by 360.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Aramark during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aramark by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter.

Aramark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARMK traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.20. 493,999 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,498. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.61 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.10. Aramark has a one year low of $28.30 and a one year high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.001 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 42.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.59.

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.