Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,840,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the March 15th total of 5,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Aramark Stock Down 0.9 %

ARMK stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,537,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,609. Aramark has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $33.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.92.

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. Aramark had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aramark will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Aramark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Aramark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ARMK. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aramark from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Aramark in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aramark

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aramark by 112.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 27,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 14,628 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Aramark by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 141,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,000 after buying an additional 27,522 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Aramark by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 368,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after buying an additional 201,623 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Aramark by 451.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,715,000 after buying an additional 87,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Aramark by 143.8% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 90,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,145,000 after buying an additional 53,463 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.