ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) Trading Up 6.2% – Time to Buy?

ARKO Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) shot up 6.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.50 and last traded at $6.5740. 213,807 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 461,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.19.

ARKO News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ARKO this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus — ARKO reported $0.02 EPS vs. a consensus loss of $0.01, improving from a year‑ago loss; the result likely supported the rally. Earnings Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded consumer promotion — ARKO raised its “Fueling America’s Future” fuel savings to $2.50 off per gallon in a year‑long program, which could boost traffic and same‑store demand. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — ARKO declared a $0.03 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Mar 10, payable Mar 20), enhancing yield and returning cash to shareholders, which can attract income‑oriented investors. Earnings Press Release (contains dividend disclosure)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts available — Management commentary from the Q4 call and transcripts provide detail on outlook, cost trends and the ARKO Petroleum IPO plan; investors will watch guidance and capital‑allocation commentary. Earnings Call Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest reported as zero — recent short‑interest reporting shows 0 shares (likely a data glitch), so short‑interest signals are not informative at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Slight revenue miss and thin margins — revenue of $1.79B trailed the $1.81B consensus and net margin remains very slim (0.3%); combined with a relatively high debt‑to‑equity ratio, these factors could limit upside if commodity or fuel margins compress. Zacks: Q4 Results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARKO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ARKO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARKO has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.00.

ARKO Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.91. The company has a market capitalization of $713.02 million, a PE ratio of 45.93 and a beta of 0.87.

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. ARKO had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 0.30%.The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that ARKO Corp. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

ARKO Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. ARKO’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARKO

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lee Financial Co bought a new position in ARKO in the third quarter worth about $891,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ARKO by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 7,309,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,404,000 after buying an additional 1,239,512 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of ARKO in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,444,000. Rock Creek Group LP bought a new position in shares of ARKO during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ARKO during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company’s stock.

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.