ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.35 and last traded at $7.19, with a volume of 1946 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARKO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARKO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.00.

ARKO Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a market cap of $806.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.45. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of ARKO stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,800. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 22.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARKO. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 45,478 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ARKO by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 762,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 206,061 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARKO in the 1st quarter worth about $1,335,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of ARKO by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. 78.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.