ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.74 and last traded at $7.66, with a volume of 40772 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARKO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ARKO has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

ARKO Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $835.82 million, a P/E ratio of 39.21 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.54.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.09. ARKO had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARKO

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in ARKO by 106.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 273,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 141,127 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ARKO by 201.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in ARKO by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 511,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 45,689 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in ARKO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,819,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in ARKO by 152.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 80,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 48,400 shares during the period. 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.