Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Short Interest Update

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,330,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the April 30th total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Arcos Dorados Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:ARCO traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.54. 1,076,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,412,447. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.49 and a 200 day moving average of $7.74. Arcos Dorados has a twelve month low of $6.66 and a twelve month high of $10.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The restaurant operator reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.06). Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 3.25% and a return on equity of 29.74%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Arcos Dorados Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. Arcos Dorados's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCO. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,210 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 534,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 58,453 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,167,857 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $23,062,000 after purchasing an additional 815,198 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 194,707 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 15,951 shares during the period. Finally, Aubrey Capital Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Arcos Dorados by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd now owns 42,690 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 14,014 shares during the period. 55.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Arcos Dorados from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

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.