SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Sells 1,602,390 Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. $ARCO

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda decreased its stake in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) by 21.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,949,286 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,602,390 shares during the quarter. Arcos Dorados makes up approximately 4.1% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Arcos Dorados were worth $49,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 35.3% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,128,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $135,867,000 after purchasing an additional 5,255,199 shares during the period. 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 312.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,049,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,705,000 after buying an additional 795,400 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Arcos Dorados by 1,097.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 646,470 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 592,484 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arcos Dorados by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,127,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,273,000 after buying an additional 511,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.91% of the company’s stock.

Arcos Dorados Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ARCO opened at $8.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 0.48. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.51 and a 52-week high of $9.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. Arcos Dorados’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Santander raised shares of Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $10.50 in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

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.