Black Creek Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. $ARCO

Black Creek Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 210,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 85,000 shares during the quarter. Arcos Dorados accounts for 0.1% of Black Creek Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Black Creek Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Arcos Dorados were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ARCO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 538,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,344,000 after purchasing an additional 101,301 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 58.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 309,785 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 114,034 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,315,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 213.3% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 50,077 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 34,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 166,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 9,892 shares during the last quarter. 55.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Santander upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arcos Dorados currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.70.

Arcos Dorados Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Arcos Dorados stock opened at $8.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.17. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.51 and a 12-month high of $9.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.46.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Arcos Dorados’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.22%.

Arcos Dorados Profile

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc is the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world, operating under an exclusive license agreement with McDonald’s Corporation. The company develops, owns and operates quick-service restaurants, offering the full McDonald’s menu, including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides, desserts and McCafé beverages. In addition to restaurant operations, Arcos Dorados manages supply chain logistics, property development, training and support services for its franchise network.

Headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, Arcos Dorados serves 20 markets across Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.