ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock 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 Ratings Changes

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

ARKO Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $898.08 million, a PE ratio of 42.19 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $6.70 and its 200-day moving average is $5.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 0.38%.The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARKO news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of ARKO stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total value of $115,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 182,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,047.29. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,800. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARKO

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARKO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in ARKO during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,220,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ARKO by 1,635.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 574,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 541,648 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of ARKO in the 1st quarter worth $1,335,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of ARKO in the first quarter worth $1,819,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in ARKO by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 226,591 shares during the last quarter. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.