Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $35.68, but opened at $34.37. Aramark shares last traded at $34.31, with a volume of 249,887 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aramark from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Aramark in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Aramark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aramark currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.42.

Aramark Stock Down 4.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Aramark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Aramark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Aramark’s payout ratio is 33.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aramark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aramark by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aramark in the 4th quarter worth $1,874,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 315,401 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aramark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $440,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Aramark by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 2,152 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.