ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• ARKO shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $7.07 before closing near $6.94, reflecting recent momentum in the stock.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on the company, with upgrades from Wall Street Zen, Weiss Ratings, and Zacks Research helping lift sentiment to a Buy consensus.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting a smaller-than-expected loss and higher revenue than forecast, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share.

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $7.07 and last traded at $6.9350, with a volume of 44769 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ARKO from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARKO from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ARKO from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ARKO presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.50.

ARKO Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $761.21 million, a P/E ratio of 35.64 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.30.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.09. ARKO had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that ARKO Corp. will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. ARKO's payout ratio is 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In other ARKO news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 22.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARKO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position in shares of ARKO by 20.4% in the third quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 7,309,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,512 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ARKO by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,795,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,343,000 after purchasing an additional 22,532 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ARKO by 7.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,021,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,800,000 after purchasing an additional 206,716 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ARKO by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,644,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ARKO by 18.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 226,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.29% of the company's stock.

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.

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