Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Arcos Dorados Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of ARCO opened at $8.13 on Tuesday. Arcos Dorados has a 12-month low of $7.02 and a 12-month high of $11.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.85 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 (NYSE:ARCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 29.74% and a net margin of 3.25%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCO. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Arcos Dorados in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados during the third quarter worth about $1,557,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados during the 3rd quarter worth $12,101,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 534,990 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 58,453 shares during the period. Finally, Emeth Value Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 4th quarter worth $11,190,000. 55.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arcos Dorados

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.