Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.95 and last traded at $39.88, with a volume of 31719 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARMK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Aramark from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $42.50 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Aramark from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aramark from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aramark from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.68.

Aramark Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.62.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Aramark had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Aramark’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aramark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.095 dividend. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in Aramark by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,381,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Aramark by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its position in Aramark by 32.0% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Aramark by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 432 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.