Short Interest in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Drops By 52.7%

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,486,026 shares, a decrease of 52.7% from the June 30th total of 7,367,249 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,748,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARCO traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.28. 646,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,769. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.38. Arcos Dorados has a 52-week low of $6.51 and a 52-week high of $9.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arcos Dorados will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Arcos Dorados from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.00 to $10.50 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Santander raised Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,128,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $135,867,000 after purchasing an additional 5,255,199 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 132.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,483,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987,271 shares during the period. Brightlight Capital Management LP increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Brightlight Capital Management LP now owns 3,466,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,446,000 after buying an additional 1,232,800 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 7,551,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,429,000 after buying an additional 1,209,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 312.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,049,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,705,000 after buying an additional 795,400 shares during the period. 55.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.