Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) Short Interest Down 23.5% in February

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a decline of 23.5% from the February 13th total of 1,620,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Arcos Dorados Price Performance

Shares of ARCO traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.25. The stock had a trading volume of 49,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,418. Arcos Dorados has a 52 week low of $7.02 and a 52 week high of $11.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.09.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 29.74% and a net margin of 3.25%. On average, analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arcos Dorados

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCO. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the third quarter valued at $1,557,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in Arcos Dorados by 26.8% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 20,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the third quarter valued at $7,389,000. Sagil Capital LLP acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the third quarter valued at $1,134,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Arcos Dorados by 12.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 206,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 22,954 shares during the period. 55.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arcos Dorados

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.