Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Arcos Dorados from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

Arcos Dorados Price Performance

Shares of ARCO opened at $8.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.48. Arcos Dorados has a twelve month low of $6.67 and a twelve month high of $9.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.83 and a 200-day moving average of $8.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 12.50%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCO. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,174,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,169 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 1.7% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,741,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $88,615,000 after buying an additional 178,602 shares in the last quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,263,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,175,000 after acquiring an additional 706,683 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Arcos Dorados by 132.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,483,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,574,000. 55.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arcos Dorados

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc (NYSE: ARCO) is the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world. The company operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants across Latin America and the Caribbean under a master franchise agreement with McDonald’s Corporation.

Its restaurants offer McDonald’s products, including hamburgers, chicken items, french fries, breakfast products, beverages, desserts and other menu offerings. Arcos Dorados also provides services such as McCafé, McDelivery, digital ordering and drive-thru operations, depending on the market.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Arcos Dorados serves customers in approximately 20 countries and territories, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela.