Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $85.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. 7,372,263 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 123% from the previous session’s volume of 3,304,648 shares.The stock last traded at $74.8380 and had previously closed at $75.05.

Several other brokerages have also commented on QSR. Barclays dropped their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $74.00 to $71.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.19.

Insider Activity

In other Restaurant Brands International news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.51, for a total value of $2,980,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,924.66. This trade represents a 52.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Housman sold 7,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $520,164.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 159,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,799,034.62. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 145,191 shares of company stock valued at $10,080,956 in the last 90 days. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,525,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,969,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095,167 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 16,645,003 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,135,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,795 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,983,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,090,684,000 after purchasing an additional 344,066 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,429,121 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $575,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,870 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 103.8% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 8,252,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $529,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,203,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.30.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 8.23%.Restaurant Brands International’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is 105.08%.

Restaurant Brands International Company Profile

Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The company’s principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands International’s business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs.

RBI’s restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood.