Ex-CEO of auto lots sells shares

Car-Mart stock’s haul is $815,000

Hank Henderson, former chief executive officer and pitchman for America's Car-Mart, sold company shares worth more than $815,000 in recent transactions, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a series of sales, one on Monday, the other last week, Henderson sold 4,000 shares at a weighted average price of $86.08 and another 4,000 at $85.50. In total, the 8,000 shares were worth $686,320. After the transaction Henderson still owns 118,830 shares.

In separate moves in early July, Henderson sold 1,500 shares at a weighted average price of $86.11, clearing $129,165, according to an SEC filing. On the same day, he exercised an option to buy 20,000 shares at $24.47, and sold 5,685 shares at $86.08 to cover the cost of the acquisition.

Henderson retired at the start of 2018. He is now a company director, serves as chief executive officer emeritus and is an adviser to senior management at Car-Mart. He was succeeded by Jeff Williams, a company stalwart.

Shares of Car-Mart have traded as high as $104.05 and as low as $61.90 over the past year. On Tuesday, shares closed at $84.86, down $1.05 or a little more than 1% on the Nasdaq exchange.

In May, Car-Mart of Bentonville saw strong profits in its fourth quarter but its revenue figures fell short of analysts' predictions and shares sagged, dropping nearly 10% in the day's trading. The used-car dealer reported net income of $14.6 million or $2.07 per share for the quarter that ended April 30, the end of its fiscal year, compared with $10.2 million or $1.43 per share for the same period in fiscal 2018. It was the fifth-consecutive quarter the company has beaten analyst's predictions on earnings.

Revenue for the quarter was $177 million, up from $169 million for the year-ago period but below analysts' expectations. Three analysts reported an average revenue estimate of $187.04 million for the quarter. Revenue at lots open at least a year was up 2.9%.

In June, the company opened a dealership in Bryant, the 36th in the state and the first new dealership in Car-Mart's 2020 fiscal year. The company plans to open another dealership in Conway in the near future and intends to open more dealerships in the coming year.

Car-Mart operates 144 dealerships in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Business on 07/10/2019

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