Brokerages Set Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Target Price at $10.50

Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.50.

ARCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Arcos Dorados from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $9.00 to $10.50 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut Arcos Dorados from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

Shares of Arcos Dorados stock opened at $8.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.48. Arcos Dorados has a fifty-two week low of $6.54 and a fifty-two week high of $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 7.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,174,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,169 shares during the last quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 19.9% in the first quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,263,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,175,000 after acquiring an additional 706,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,741,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,615,000 after purchasing an additional 178,602 shares during the period. Dumac Inc. acquired a new stake in Arcos Dorados during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Arcos Dorados during the 4th quarter worth approximately $771,000. 55.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arcos Dorados Company Profile

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.