ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ARKO has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ARKO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

ARKO Stock Down 5.6%

ARKO opened at $7.65 on Monday. ARKO has a 12 month low of $3.71 and a 12 month high of $8.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $858.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27 and a beta of 0.99.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share 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 9.10%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ARKO will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. ARKO’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Maury Bricks sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.50, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 162,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,148.50. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in ARKO by 106.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 273,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 141,127 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in ARKO by 9.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 511,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 45,689 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of ARKO during the first quarter worth about $1,819,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of ARKO by 152.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 80,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 48,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.