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

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Arcos Dorados Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE:ARCO opened at $8.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Arcos Dorados has a 52-week low of $7.02 and a 52-week high of $11.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.09.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCO. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Arcos Dorados by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,210 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 22,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 72,478 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Arcos Dorados by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

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.