Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.70.

ARCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Arcos Dorados from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Santander upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

Shares of Arcos Dorados stock opened at $8.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.46 and a 200-day moving average of $7.99. Arcos Dorados has a 1-year low of $6.51 and a 1-year high of $9.75.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.08). Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimize Financial Inc raised its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 86,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Arcos Dorados by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 24,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 19,665 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 49,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

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.