Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Short Interest Update

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,240,112 shares, an increase of 84.7% from the May 31st total of 3,919,757 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,417,982 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ARCO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Santander raised shares of Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCO. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,703,169 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 1.7% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,741,166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $88,615,000 after acquiring an additional 178,602 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,209,055 shares during the last quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 19.9% during the first quarter. Moerus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,263,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,175,000 after purchasing an additional 706,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 3.1% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,508,707 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,684,000 after purchasing an additional 105,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

Arcos Dorados Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE ARCO opened at $8.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.26. Arcos Dorados has a one year low of $6.51 and a one year high of $9.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 4.86%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.