ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.97 and last traded at $7.9710, with a volume of 73560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARKO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered ARKO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARKO has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

ARKO Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $969.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 0.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.16%.

Insider Transactions at ARKO

In related news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 10,000 shares of ARKO stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 162,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,148.50. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ARKO by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,795,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,343,000 after buying an additional 22,532 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ARKO by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,021,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,800,000 after acquiring an additional 206,716 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ARKO by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,644,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in ARKO during the 1st quarter worth about $8,220,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ARKO by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 226,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company’s stock.

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.