Short Interest in Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Declines By 31.8%

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,570,000 shares, a drop of 31.8% from the November 30th total of 9,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Aramark Stock Down 0.6 %

ARMK stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,232,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,624. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.75. Aramark has a 12 month low of $27.47 and a 12 month high of $42.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.81 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.54 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.001 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.01%. Aramark’s payout ratio is presently 42.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARMK has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aramark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Aramark from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $42.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.59.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.