ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ARKO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARKO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ARKO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Mizuho set a $22.00 target price on ARKO in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded ARKO from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ARKO presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

ARKO Stock Up 1.1%

ARKO opened at $4.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.37 million, a P/E ratio of 63.71 and a beta of 1.00. ARKO has a one year low of $3.71 and a one year high of $8.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.11). ARKO had a return on equity of 4.44% and a net margin of 0.19%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. Equities research analysts expect that ARKO will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ARKO

In other news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total transaction of $115,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 182,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,047.29. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 21.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARKO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ARKO during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in ARKO in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in ARKO by 193.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 8,115 shares during the period. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in ARKO in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors 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.