Arko Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO) Short Interest Down 5.8% in December

Arko Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,750,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the November 30th total of 2,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 286,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.6 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Arko Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Arko stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.59. 203,273 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,656. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.57. Arko has a 52-week low of $4.09 and a 52-week high of $8.42. The firm has a market cap of $762.92 million, a P/E ratio of 41.19 and a beta of 0.48.

Arko (NASDAQ:ARKO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Arko had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 0.27%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Arko will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arko Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Arko's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arko

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARKO. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Arko during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $488,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arko during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $495,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Arko by 98.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 171,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 85,009 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Arko by 5.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,893 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arko by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 116,692 shares of the company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.29% of the company's stock.

About Arko

Arko Corp. operates convenience stores in the United States. It operates through Retail, Wholesale, Fleet Fueling, and GPMP segments. The Retail segment engages in the sale of fuel and merchandise to retail consumers. Its Wholesale segment supplies fuel to third-party dealers and consignment agents. The Fleet Fueling segment supplies fuel to proprietary and third-party cardlock, and issuance of proprietary fuel cards.