West Tower Group LLC Boosts Position in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. $ARCO

Key Points

• West Tower Group LLC has increased its stake in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. by 32.9%, now owning a total of 196,000 shares, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Despite a revenue of $1.14 billion for the last quarter, Arcos Dorados reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, exceeding analysts' expectations but below last year's EPS of $0.13.
• Wall Street ratings for Arcos Dorados vary, with one analyst upgrading the stock from "hold" to "buy," while others have downgraded it, leading to an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.80.

West Tower Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO - Free Report) by 32.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 196,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 48,546 shares during the quarter. Arcos Dorados makes up 3.4% of West Tower Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. West Tower Group LLC owned 0.09% of Arcos Dorados worth $1,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arcos Dorados during the 1st quarter valued at $9,033,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arcos Dorados during the 1st quarter valued at $736,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 234,596 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 50,557 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 1st quarter worth about $26,746,000. Finally, General American Investors Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 1st quarter worth about $3,076,000. 55.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arcos Dorados Stock Down 0.8%

ARCO stock opened at $7.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.51 and a fifty-two week high of $9.63. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 24.54%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $10.50 to $8.80 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.80.

Arcos Dorados 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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