BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Shares in ARKO Corp. $ARKO

Key Points

• BlackRock purchased 5.62 million ARKO shares valued at approximately $45.2 million, giving it a 5.01% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with ratings ranging from buy to strong sell; ARKO has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.
• ARKO reported quarterly revenue of $2.35 billion but missed earnings expectations, posting $0.04 per share versus the $0.15 consensus estimate. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,623,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,154,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 5.01% of ARKO as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of ARKO by 201.9% during 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 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in ARKO by 193.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in ARKO during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in ARKO during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 78.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARKO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut ARKO from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARKO from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ARKO from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ARKO from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $22.00 price objective on shares of ARKO in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARKO news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.69, for a total transaction of $115,350.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 21.90% of the company's stock.

ARKO Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of ARKO stock opened at $4.56 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $6.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.60. ARKO Corp. has a 1 year low of $3.71 and a 1 year high of $8.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.59 million, a P/E ratio of 65.14 and a beta of 1.00.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. ARKO's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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