ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.74 and last traded at $6.73, with a volume of 844803 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of ARKO in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ARKO has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.00.

ARKO Trading Up 6.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.29 million, a P/E ratio of 48.07 and a beta of 0.86.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.03. ARKO had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Analysts expect that ARKO Corp. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. ARKO’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARKO

In related news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARKO

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 45,478 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in ARKO by 4.4% during the first 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. grew its holdings in ARKO by 37.0% during 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in ARKO during the first quarter worth about $1,335,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in ARKO by 37.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the period. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ARKO Company Profile

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.