719,960 Shares in ARKO Corp. $ARKO Bought by Ancora Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC acquired 719,960 ARKO shares worth approximately $5.8 million, giving it a 0.64% stake. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors own 78.29% of ARKO.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with ARKO carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $14.50. Recent actions included downgrades from Raymond James, Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research.
• ARKO reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, missing the $0.15 consensus estimate, despite revenue of $2.35 billion exceeding expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% annual yield.

Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 719,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,781,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.64% of ARKO at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in ARKO by 201.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in ARKO during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in ARKO by 193.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 8,115 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in ARKO during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of ARKO in the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. 78.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered ARKO from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho set a $22.00 target price on ARKO in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ARKO from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings raised ARKO from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut ARKO from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50.

Insider Transactions at ARKO

In other news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total value of $115,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 182,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,047.29. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 21.90% of the company's stock.

ARKO Price Performance

ARKO stock opened at $4.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. ARKO Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $3.71 and a fifty-two week high of $8.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.65. The stock has a market cap of $523.93 million, a PE ratio of 66.71 and a beta of 1.00.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). ARKO had a net margin of 0.19% and a return on equity of 4.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. ARKO's payout ratio is 171.43%.

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.

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.