ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) Short Interest Down 17.8% in January

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,899,103 shares, a drop of 17.8% from the December 31st total of 2,310,219 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 373,536 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 373,536 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARKO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ARKO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARKO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ARKO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARKO during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of ARKO by 131.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 7,353 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of ARKO by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 3,124 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of ARKO by 37.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company’s stock.

ARKO Price Performance

Shares of ARKO stock opened at $5.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.18. ARKO has a one year low of $3.51 and a one year high of $7.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $591.69 million, a P/E ratio of 48.28 and a beta of 0.87.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). ARKO had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 0.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Analysts forecast that ARKO will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

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.