Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Stock Position in ARKO Corp. $ARKO

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its stake in ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 127,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in ARKO were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARKO in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of ARKO by 193.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8,115 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of ARKO by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of ARKO by 37.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of ARKO by 104.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 7,631 shares in the last quarter. 78.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ARKO Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of ARKO stock opened at $7.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $855.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.16 and a beta of 0.94. ARKO Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $3.71 and a fifty-two week high of $7.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.13 and a 200 day moving average of $5.51.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. ARKO had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 0.38%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that ARKO Corp. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio is 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Charles Galagher Jeff purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $202,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 22.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered ARKO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded ARKO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

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.