Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,542,246 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the previous session’s volume of 1,340,031 shares.The stock last traded at $8.2150 and had previously closed at $8.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCO. Santander raised Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.70.

Arcos Dorados Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 4.86%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Arcos Dorados

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,255,199 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,483,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987,271 shares during the last quarter. Brightlight Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. Brightlight Capital Management LP now owns 3,466,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,800 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its holdings 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 valued at $55,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,055 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 312.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,049,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,705,000 after purchasing an additional 795,400 shares during the last quarter. 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.