Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $37.75 and last traded at $37.78. 1,121,973 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 2,047,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ARMK. StockNews.com cut Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Aramark Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Aramark’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.92 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.105 dividend. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARMK. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter valued at $1,874,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aramark by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 891,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,268,000 after buying an additional 315,401 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at $440,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Aramark by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aramark during the 4th quarter worth about $838,000.

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.