ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.19 and traded as high as $4.29. ARKO shares last traded at $4.20, with a volume of 1,014,018 shares.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ARKO. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho set a $22.00 target price on shares of ARKO in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of ARKO from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ARKO presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARKO

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARKO. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ARKO in the third quarter valued at $42,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its holdings in ARKO by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in ARKO by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 101,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 32,204 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in ARKO during the 2nd quarter worth about $174,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ARKO by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 719,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,781,000 after purchasing an additional 134,682 shares in the last quarter. 78.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ARKO Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $475.64 million, a P/E ratio of 84.82 and a beta of 0.99.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). ARKO had a net margin of 0.14% and a return on equity of 2.87%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 240.00%.

ARKO Company Profile

ARKO Corp. is a U.S. convenience-store operator and fuel distributor. Through its subsidiary GPM Investments, the company runs convenience stores that sell fuel, food, beverages, tobacco products and other everyday goods, as well as offering services such as prepared food and loyalty programs. ARKO’s stores operate under a range of banners, including fas mart, E-Z Mart, Scotchman and Village Pantry. The company also distributes fuel to independently operated locations and serves commercial customers through fuel and related services.