Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Arcos Dorados Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Arcos Dorados stock opened at $8.31 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Arcos Dorados has a twelve month low of $7.02 and a twelve month high of $11.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 3.25% and a return on equity of 29.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 289,153 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 100,461 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados in the 4th quarter worth $350,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 900,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,553,000 after purchasing an additional 31,010 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 519,496 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 54,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

Arcos Dorados Company Profile

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc operates as a franchisee of McDonald’s restaurants. It has the exclusive right to own, operate, and grant franchises of McDonald’s restaurants in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, the U.S.