ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Shares Down 4.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• ARKO Corp. shares dropped 4.1%, trading between $4.85 and $4.89, with volume down 90% from the norm.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a favorable outlook with an average price target of $7.13, with some giving the stock a "strong-buy" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 2.5%, despite a high payout ratio of 150%.

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $4.89 and last traded at $4.85. 58,658 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 591,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARKO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ARKO from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $8.00 price objective on ARKO and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded ARKO to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Capital One Financial started coverage on ARKO in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ARKO from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $7.13.

ARKO Stock Down 3.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.61 million, a P/E ratio of 60.82 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.55.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. ARKO had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 5.50%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Research analysts forecast that ARKO Corp. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

ARKO Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ARKO's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.00%.

Institutional Trading of ARKO

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voss Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of ARKO during the first quarter valued at $9,547,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ARKO by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,851,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,200,000 after buying an additional 202,576 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 206,061 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ARKO by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,109 shares of the company's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of ARKO by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 733,606 shares of the company's stock worth $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 134,502 shares during the period. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ARKO Company Profile

Arko Corp. operates convenience stores in the United States. It operates through Retail, Wholesale, Fleet Fueling, and GPMP segments. The Retail segment engages in the sale of fuel and merchandise to retail consumers. Its Wholesale segment supplies fuel to third-party dealers and consignment agents. The Fleet Fueling segment supplies fuel to proprietary and third-party cardlock, and issuance of proprietary fuel cards.

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