BofA Securities announced Monday that it has reinstated coverage of Aramark Holdings (NYSE:ARMK), assigning a Buy rating and a price target of $50.00. At the stock's current trading level of $39.51, that target implies slightly more than 26% upside and sits close to the analyst high target of $51 for the company, which has a reported market capitalization of $10.4 billion.
The bank's analyst, Curtis Nagle, points to a combination of new customer wins, record-high client retention and diversified operations across multiple industry verticals as central drivers of the companys recent momentum. Those factors are reflected in Aramark's reported 7.07% revenue gain over the past 12 months, taking full-year revenue to $18.79 billion.
BofA also highlights Aramark's efforts to modernize its operating model. According to the analyst, the company is concentrating on improving the consumer, operator and client experience while pursuing cost reductions through expanded use of data, automation and AI-enabled operating systems. The firm projects that these initiatives, together with ongoing client acquisition and retention improvements, should underpin above-average revenue growth and margin expansion over the coming years.
On the operational positioning front, BofA views Aramark as well placed to benefit from its scale and the rollout of operational improvements across its business segments.
Recent quarterly results and peer actions
Aramark's fiscal first-quarter 2026 results showed slight upside relative to consensus estimates. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.51 versus a consensus projection of $0.50. Revenue for the quarter came in at $4.83 billion, beating an expected $4.74 billion.
Following the quarterly release, several brokerages moved to raise their price targets while maintaining constructive ratings. UBS and Stifel each increased their price targets to $47 and kept Buy ratings on the shares, citing strong growth and a solid quarterly performance, respectively. Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $45 and noted that Aramark's organic revenue growth of 5.0% exceeded estimates.
Taken together, the analyst actions and the quarterly beat underscore a recent run of performance improvements, including strengthening contract trends. Despite those positives, Aramark's stock experienced a pre-market decline following the earnings release, signaling mixed investor sentiment in the immediate trading reaction. Stifel has also pointed out that the company's retention rates remain at historically high levels.
What this means
BofA's reinstatement with a Buy rating and a $50 target places the company among several brokerages that have recently adjusted outlooks upward after the quarter. The bank's central thesis centers on continued client wins and retention combined with cost and productivity gains driven by data and automation, which together are expected to support above-average growth and margin improvement over time.