Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Now Covered by Citigroup

Equities research analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 33.65% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aramark from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE ARMK opened at $35.92 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.07. Aramark has a 12-month low of $29.82 and a 12-month high of $42.49.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. Aramark had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Aramark will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Aramark by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 53,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Aramark by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Aramark by 100.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aramark by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period.

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.