Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) Stock Short Interest Rises 88.9%

Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,047 shares, an increase of 88.9% from the September 30th total of 4,259 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,977 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Ark Restaurants Stock Performance

ARKR stock remained flat at $5.01 during trading on Monday. 10,395 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,722. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $18.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.69 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.02. Ark Restaurants has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $9.50.

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $40.88 million for the quarter. Ark Restaurants had a negative return on equity of 10.61% and a negative net margin of 2.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Lawrence Weinstein sold 176,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.57, for a total transaction of $807,523.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 856,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,912,427.27. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 37.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ark Restaurants

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in Ark Restaurants stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 23,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.65% of Ark Restaurants at the end of the most recent quarter. 31.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ark Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Ark Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

About Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Corp. owns and operates a portfolio of restaurants, bars and other food-service venues in the United States. Its establishments span a range of dining formats, including full-service restaurants, casual dining locations, steakhouses, bars and limited-service food concepts. The company serves a variety of cuisines and customer segments, from everyday dining to destination and entertainment-oriented venues.

Ark Restaurants’ operations have historically been concentrated in major hospitality and tourism markets, including New York City, Washington, DC, and Las Vegas, Nevada, with additional locations in other U.S.