Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,700 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the May 31st total of 19,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Thomas A. Satterfield, Jr. bought 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $85,339.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 52,600 shares in the company, valued at $735,874. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 37.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ark Restaurants

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Ark Restaurants stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,544 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.49% of Ark Restaurants worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 31.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARKR. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ark Restaurants in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Ark Restaurants from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th.

Ark Restaurants Price Performance

ARKR traded up $0.19 on Tuesday, reaching $13.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,578. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $47.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.55 and a beta of 1.00. Ark Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $10.27 and a fifty-two week high of $18.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.40 and a 200-day moving average of $14.26.

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 13th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $42.26 million during the quarter. Ark Restaurants had a negative net margin of 3.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.19%.

Ark Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.188 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Ark Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently -37.13%.

About Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates restaurants and bars in the United States. It operates restaurants in New York City; Washington, DC; Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Florida; and Alabama, as well as fast food concepts and catering operations. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.