Short Interest in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Decreases By 21.6%

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

Aramark Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ARMK traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 368,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,402. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17 and a beta of 1.64. Aramark has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.94 and a 200-day moving average of $37.52.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is 42.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aramark by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 6,298 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Aramark by 25.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 117,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after acquiring an additional 23,826 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Aramark during the 2nd quarter worth $854,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Aramark by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Aramark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 58,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Aramark from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.59.

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.