Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Freedom Capital lowered Karooooo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Karooooo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Karooooo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Karooooo in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Karooooo Stock Performance

Karooooo stock opened at $63.65 on Wednesday. Karooooo has a fifty-two week low of $41.25 and a fifty-two week high of $67.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.62.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $96.26 million during the quarter. Karooooo had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Karooooo will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karooooo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Karooooo’s previous annual dividend of $1.25. This represents a yield of 239.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Karooooo’s payout ratio is presently 76.14%.

Insider Transactions at Karooooo

In other news, CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold 33,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total transaction of $2,237,714.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,714,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,171,616,262.04. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 203,772 shares of company stock worth $13,149,641 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 74.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karooooo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Karooooo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Karooooo by 852.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Karooooo during the second quarter valued at approximately $156,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Karooooo by 465.6% during the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of Karooooo in the second quarter worth approximately $214,000.

Key Karooooo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Karooooo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Karooooo’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted strength: EPS of $0.59 exceeded the $0.51 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $96.26 million. Analysts expect approximately $2.41 in full-year EPS, supporting the company’s premium valuation. Karooooo stock and earnings information
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its annual dividend to $1.50 from $1.25. Although the payout ratio is relatively high, the increase may reinforce investor confidence in Karooooo’s cash generation and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable. The consensus rating is “Buy,” with an average price target of $73.50, above recent trading levels. Roth Capital, Needham and UBS have maintained or issued buy ratings with targets ranging from $70 to $75.
• Neutral Sentiment: Three AAII articles compare Karooooo with Appian, Adeia and ACI Worldwide as potential investments. These are comparative screening pieces rather than company-specific developments, so they may have limited immediate impact on KARO. Appian versus Karooooo comparison Adeia versus Karooooo comparison ACI Worldwide versus Karooooo comparison
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold a combined 79,944 shares on August 4 and 5 for approximately $3.89 million, following additional sales on August 3 and in late July. The transactions reduced his ownership only marginally—less than 0.2% in each reported sale—but the repeated insider selling near the stock’s highs can raise concerns about valuation or near-term upside.

About Karooooo

Karooooo Ltd is a global provider of telematics software-as-a-service solutions for vehicle and fleet management. Through its flagship platform, the company delivers real-time GPS tracking, stolen vehicle recovery and driver behaviour analytics, enabling commercial fleets and automotive insurers to optimise operations, increase safety and reduce costs.

Karooooo’s SaaS platform integrates proprietary hardware devices with cloud-based analytics and mobile applications. Customers gain access to live vehicle location data, engine diagnostics, route planning tools and customizable reporting dashboards.