ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• ARKO Corp. shares increased from $4.14 to $4.61 pre-market following a quarterly earnings report that beat expectations with an EPS of $0.16.
• Despite the earnings beat, brokerages have mixed ratings on ARKO, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and varying price targets, the highest being $8.00.
• Institutional ownership in ARKO is strong, with major investors like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs significantly increasing their stakes in the company.

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $4.14, but opened at $4.61. ARKO shares last traded at $4.45, with a volume of 173,627 shares.

The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. ARKO had a return on equity of 3.23% and a net margin of 0.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ARKO. Wall Street Zen lowered ARKO from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on ARKO in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on ARKO from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on ARKO from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARKO

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARKO. Voss Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of ARKO during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,547,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in ARKO by 166.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 639,070 shares of the company's stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 399,387 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in ARKO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in ARKO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,284,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ARKO by 37.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ARKO Trading Up 9.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.41 and a 200 day moving average of $4.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $519.16 million, a PE ratio of 150.90 and a beta of 0.74.

About ARKO

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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