Short Interest in Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) Declines By 18.2%

Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 2,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ark Restaurants

In other Ark Restaurants news, major shareholder Thomas A. Satterfield, Jr. purchased 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $85,339.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 52,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $735,874. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 37.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ark Restaurants

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Ark Restaurants stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,544 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.49% of Ark Restaurants worth $246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 31.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Ark Restaurants from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ark Restaurants in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Ark Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of ARKR traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257. Ark Restaurants has a one year low of $10.27 and a one year high of $18.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Ark Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.188 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Ark Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.13%.

Ark Restaurants Company Profile

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.