Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) Rating Lowered to "Sell (D+)" at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Arcos Dorados has been downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (C-)" to a "sell (D+)" rating, reflecting a negative outlook for the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, another research firm, Wall Street Zen, has upgraded the stock from "hold" to "buy," indicating conflicting perspectives on its value.
• As of midday trading, Arcos Dorados' shares were priced at $6.85, with a recent trading volume significantly lower than its average.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ARCO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arcos Dorados from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Arcos Dorados from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $10.50 to $8.80 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arcos Dorados has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.80.

Arcos Dorados Price Performance

Shares of ARCO traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 735,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,467,253. Arcos Dorados has a one year low of $6.51 and a one year high of $10.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $6.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.60.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 2.89%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados during the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. R Squared Ltd boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 60.3% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Arcos Dorados in the second quarter worth approximately $120,000. Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in Arcos Dorados in the second quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, First Interstate Bank boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 74.7% in the first quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 19,020 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 8,135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.91% of the company's stock.

Arcos Dorados Company Profile

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc operates as a franchisee of McDonald's restaurants. It has the exclusive right to own, operate, and grant franchises of McDonald's restaurants in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, the U.S.

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