Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $67.14 and last traded at $65.91, with a volume of 239549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.69.

Karooooo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Karooooo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Karooooo’s latest quarterly results were better than expected: earnings per share came in at $0.59 versus the $0.51 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $96.26 million. Analysts forecast approximately $2.41 in full-year EPS, supporting the company’s growth outlook and premium valuation. Karooooo earnings and stock information
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its annual dividend to $1.50 per share from $1.25. The boost signals confidence in cash generation and may provide additional support for investor sentiment, although the reported payout ratio is relatively high.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership trends were generally favorable in the first quarter, with Arrowstreet Capital increasing its position by 35.1%, while Bank of America and Renaissance Technologies also added shares. Lazard Asset Management initiated a new position.
• Neutral Sentiment: AAII published comparison articles evaluating Karooooo against Appian, Adeia and ACI Worldwide. These are broad investment-screening pieces rather than company-specific developments and are unlikely to materially affect KARO immediately. Appian versus Karooooo comparison
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold 25,594 shares for about $1.65 million on August 4 and another 33,833 shares for approximately $2.24 million on August 5. He has also made repeated sales since late July. Although the transactions reduced his ownership only marginally, continued selling near recent highs may raise valuation and near-term upside concerns. Karooooo CEO insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Karooooo from “strong buy” to “hold,” potentially limiting enthusiasm despite the company’s favorable earnings performance and broader analyst consensus.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KARO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karooooo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Karooooo in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Karooooo in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Karooooo in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Karooooo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Karooooo Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.90 and a beta of 0.85.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08. Karooooo had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $96.26 million for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Karooooo Ltd. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Karooooo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 27th. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This is an increase from Karooooo’s previous annual dividend of $1.25. This represents a dividend yield of 239.0%. Karooooo’s payout ratio is presently 76.14%.

Insider Activity at Karooooo

In other news, CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold 33,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $2,237,714.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 17,714,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,171,616,262.04. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 203,772 shares of company stock valued at $13,149,641. Corporate insiders own 74.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karooooo

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd lifted its position in shares of Karooooo by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 278,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,873,000 after buying an additional 40,268 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Karooooo by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 78,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Karooooo by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 74,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,234,000 after acquiring an additional 39,709 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Karooooo by 699.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 55,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 48,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Karooooo by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 14,078 shares during the last quarter.

Karooooo Company Profile

Karooooo Ltd is a global provider of telematics software-as-a-service solutions for vehicle and fleet management. Through its flagship platform, the company delivers real-time GPS tracking, stolen vehicle recovery and driver behaviour analytics, enabling commercial fleets and automotive insurers to optimise operations, increase safety and reduce costs.

Karooooo’s SaaS platform integrates proprietary hardware devices with cloud-based analytics and mobile applications. Customers gain access to live vehicle location data, engine diagnostics, route planning tools and customizable reporting dashboards.