Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Down 4.3% – What’s Next?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $35.88 and last traded at $36.79. 755,839 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 1,732,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARMK. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.59.

Aramark Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.63.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 1.51%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 42.42%.

Institutional Trading of Aramark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Aramark by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 23,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 10,362 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Aramark by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Aramark by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aramark by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during 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.