ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded ARKO to “strong sell” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $14.50 target price.
• ARKO reported quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share, missing the $0.15 consensus estimate by $0.11, though revenue of $2.35 billion exceeded expectations.
• The stock opened at $4.46, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages; an insider also sold 15,000 shares, while institutional investors own 78.29% of the company.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ARKO. Raymond James Financial cut ARKO from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho set a $22.00 price objective on shares of ARKO in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ARKO from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ARKO from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.50.

ARKO Stock Up 1.1%

ARKO stock opened at $4.46 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.71. ARKO has a fifty-two week low of $3.71 and a fifty-two week high of $8.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.71 and a beta of 1.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. ARKO had a return on equity of 4.44% and a net margin of 0.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ARKO will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARKO news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total transaction of $115,350.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 182,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,047.29. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 21.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in ARKO during the second quarter worth $45,154,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of ARKO in the first quarter valued at about $8,220,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ARKO during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,145,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ARKO by 1,635.3% during 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. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of ARKO during the 1st quarter worth about $1,335,000. 78.29% of the stock is 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.

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