Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Arcos Dorados from “buy” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $10.50 price target.
• Arcos Dorados shares opened at $7.79, down 4.0%, and remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages; the stock has traded between $6.67 and $9.75 over the past year.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.22 in EPS versus a $0.15 estimate and $1.31 billion in revenue versus $1.28 billion expected. Institutional investors own approximately 55.91% of the stock.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Arcos Dorados from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arcos Dorados from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Arcos Dorados from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $10.50 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arcos Dorados has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Arcos Dorados Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:ARCO opened at $7.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $7.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Arcos Dorados has a fifty-two week low of $6.67 and a fifty-two week high of $9.75.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.07. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arcos Dorados will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the second quarter worth $40,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the second quarter worth $81,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Arcos Dorados during the second quarter worth $87,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Arcos Dorados by 10.6% during 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. 55.91% of the stock is 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 and the exclusive master franchisee for McDonald's in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants across 20 countries and territories, serving customers through company-operated and franchised locations.

Its restaurant business offers McDonald's products including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, soft drinks and McCafé beverages.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.