Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Short Interest Down 19.7% in March

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,062,007 shares, a decrease of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 3,813,584 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,153,742 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 538,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 101,301 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 58.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 309,785 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 114,034 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Arcos Dorados in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,315,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 213.3% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 50,077 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 34,094 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 166,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 9,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.70.

Arcos Dorados Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:ARCO traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.98. 1,010,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.03. Arcos Dorados has a 12-month low of $6.51 and a 12-month high of $9.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.72.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.08). Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 4.53%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Arcos Dorados’s payout ratio is presently 23.76%.

About Arcos Dorados

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc is the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world, operating under an exclusive license agreement with McDonald’s Corporation. The company develops, owns and operates quick-service restaurants, offering the full McDonald’s menu, including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides, desserts and McCafé beverages. In addition to restaurant operations, Arcos Dorados manages supply chain logistics, property development, training and support services for its franchise network.

Headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, Arcos Dorados serves 20 markets across Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.