Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Shares Up 4.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $81.00. Scotiabank currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Restaurant Brands International traded as high as $77.24 and last traded at $77.03. Approximately 1,239,625 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 1,456,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.84.

QSR has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Dunnigan sold 14,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $1,110,726.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,260,112.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Matthew Dunnigan sold 14,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $1,110,726.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,863 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,112.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David Chan Shear sold 17,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $1,338,820.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 210,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,055,399.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 380,200 shares of company stock worth $28,828,182 in the last ninety days. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QSR. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Restaurant Brands International in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.65 and a 200 day moving average of $74.42. The company has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.02. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Restaurant Brands International Company Profile

Restaurant Brands International Inc operates as a quick-service restaurant company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Tim Hortons (TH), Burger King (BK), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLK), and Firehouse Subs (FHS). The company owns and franchises TH chain of donut/coffee/tea restaurants that offer blend coffee, tea, and espresso-based hot and cold specialty drinks; and fresh baked goods, including donuts, Timbits, bagels, muffins, cookies and pastries, grilled paninis, classic sandwiches, wraps, soups, and other food products.