ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 86.8% in March to 3,029,862 shares (about 3.5% of shares sold short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of approximately 2.4 based on average daily volume.
• CFO Charles Galagher Jeff bought 40,000 shares on March 17 at $5.07 each (≈$202,800), and insiders now own about 22.50% of the company.
• Institutional ownership is high at 78.29%, with notable increases from Goldman Sachs (now 762,864 shares, +37.0%) and AQR (117,544 shares, +63.1%); ARKO has a market cap of ~$603M, a P/E of 38.86, and a 2.2% dividend yield.

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,029,862 shares, an increase of 86.8% from the March 15th total of 1,621,721 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,245,417 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Transactions at ARKO

In other news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff bought 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.07 per share, with a total value of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARKO

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARKO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45,478 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of ARKO by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,838 shares of the company's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ARKO by 37.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 762,864 shares of the company's stock worth $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 206,061 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARKO during the first quarter worth $1,335,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of ARKO by 37.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company's stock.

ARKO Price Performance

ARKO stock opened at $5.44 on Monday. ARKO has a twelve month low of $3.71 and a twelve month high of $6.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $603.24 million, a P/E ratio of 38.86 and a beta of 0.86.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.03. ARKO had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 0.30%.The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that ARKO will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given 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 2.2%. ARKO's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of ARKO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued 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 $7.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.