ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $4.99, but opened at $5.20. ARKO shares last traded at $5.2340, with a volume of 224,088 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.07 per share, with a total value of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARKO in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.00.

ARKO Trading Up 4.6%

The firm has a market cap of $578.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.66.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.03. ARKO had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 0.30%.The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that ARKO Corp. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Institutional Trading of ARKO

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ARKO by 63.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 117,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 45,478 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ARKO by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ARKO by 37.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 762,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 206,061 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in ARKO during the first quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ARKO during the second quarter worth approximately $117,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.29% of the company’s stock.

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.