Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 3,890 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,270% compared to the typical daily volume of 284 call options.

Arcos Dorados Stock Down 9.7%

NYSE:ARCO traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $7.30. 2,286,531 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,395,910. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.48. Arcos Dorados has a twelve month low of $6.67 and a twelve month high of $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.26.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Arcos Dorados will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arcos Dorados from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $9.00 to $10.50 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCO. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 7.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,174,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,169 shares during the period. Moerus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Arcos Dorados by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,263,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,175,000 after buying an additional 706,683 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Arcos Dorados by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,741,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,615,000 after buying an additional 178,602 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,483,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,741,000 after buying an additional 1,987,271 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

About Arcos Dorados

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc (NYSE: ARCO) is the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world. The company operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America and the Caribbean under a master franchise agreement with McDonald’s Corporation.

Its restaurants offer McDonald’s products, including hamburgers, chicken items, french fries, breakfast products, beverages, desserts and other menu offerings. Arcos Dorados also provides services such as McCafé, McDelivery, digital ordering and drive-thru operations, depending on the market.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Arcos Dorados serves customers in approximately 20 countries and territories, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.