Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.00 and last traded at $8.9950, with a volume of 311539 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.70.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.48.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.08). Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio is 23.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimize Financial Inc grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 86,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 24,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 19,665 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 49,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

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.