Empyrean Capital Partners LP Acquires Shares of 327,155 ARKO Corp. $ARKO

Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 327,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARKO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in ARKO during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in ARKO during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in ARKO by 193.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of ARKO in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in ARKO during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.50, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 162,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,148.50. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 22.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ARKO shares. Zacks Research downgraded ARKO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut ARKO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

ARKO Price Performance

ARKO stock opened at $8.00 on Tuesday. ARKO Corp. has a 1 year low of $3.71 and a 1 year high of $8.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.56. The company has a market cap of $897.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. ARKO had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.