ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Trading Up 9.3% – Here’s Why

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO)’s stock price shot up 9.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.81 and last traded at $4.92. Approximately 430,857 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 821,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARKO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ARKO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $22.00 target price on shares of ARKO in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised ARKO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered ARKO from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ARKO presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

ARKO Trading Up 9.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $7.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.71. The company has a market cap of $554.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.62.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. ARKO had a net margin of 0.19% and a return on equity of 4.44%. On average, research analysts forecast that ARKO Corp. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total transaction of $115,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 182,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,047.29. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 21.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARKO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of ARKO by 201.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of ARKO in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ARKO during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in ARKO by 193.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in ARKO in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ARKO

ARKO Corp (NASDAQ: ARKO) is a downstream energy and convenience retail company based in Matthews, North Carolina. The company’s core operations encompass fuel supply, distribution and retailing through a network of terminals, independent dealer locations and company-operated convenience stores. ARKO’s fuel offerings include branded and unbranded gasoline and diesel, as well as lubricants and other petroleum products marketed under various regional and private labels.

In its retail segment, ARKO operates a portfolio of convenience stores under the Kangaroo Express banner, serving on-site customers with fuel, grab-and-go food items, beverages and everyday household essentials.