Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Trading Down 4.3% – Should You Sell?

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $35.88 and last traded at $36.79. 755,839 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 1,732,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aramark from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Aramark from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Aramark from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.59.

Aramark Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.88 and a 200-day moving average of $37.63.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Aramark had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aramark will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Aramark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This is an increase from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Aramark by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Aramark during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Aramark by 360.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Aramark during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aramark by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period.

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.