Short Interest in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Declines By 52.7%

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,486,026 shares, a decline of 52.7% from the June 30th total of 7,367,249 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,748,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

Arcos Dorados stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,309,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,999. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.38. Arcos Dorados has a 1 year low of $6.51 and a 1 year high of $9.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 10.47%. Arcos Dorados’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arcos Dorados will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCO has been the topic of several research reports. Santander upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCO. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its position in Arcos Dorados by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 86,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 49,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 918,063 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. 55.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.