ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate ARKO as a "Hold" on average, based on one sell, two holds, one buy and one strong buy, with a one‑year consensus price target of $7.00.
• CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares at about $5.07 on March 17; insiders now own 22.5% of the company while hedge funds and institutional investors hold roughly 78.29%, with recent stake increases from AQR and Goldman Sachs.
• ARKO posted Q earnings of $0.02 per share (beating the -$0.01 estimate) on $1.79B revenue, has a market cap of ~$728.6M and a P/E of 46.93, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.03 (annualized yield ~1.8%) with an 85.71% payout ratio.

Shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.00.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of ARKO in a research note on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Activity at ARKO

In other news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of the company'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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 22.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARKO. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ARKO by 63.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 206,061 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of ARKO during the 1st quarter worth about $1,335,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of ARKO by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163 shares during the period. 78.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ARKO Price Performance

ARKO stock opened at $6.57 on Wednesday. ARKO has a 52 week low of $3.71 and a 52 week high of $7.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $728.55 million, a P/E ratio of 46.93 and a beta of 0.86.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. ARKO had a net margin of 0.30% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Analysts anticipate that ARKO will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. ARKO's payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.

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