Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Upgraded to “Buy” at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on QSR. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.08.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

QSR stock opened at $67.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Restaurant Brands International has a 1 year low of $59.67 and a 1 year high of $80.49. The company has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.26.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.29). Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 28.53%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total transaction of $851,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 235,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,023,731.36. This trade represents a 5.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total value of $5,837,144.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 848,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,908,838.30. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 300,226 shares of company stock valued at $19,121,223 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Restaurant Brands International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,813,000. Meritage Group LP raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 5,795.9% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,301,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,689 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in Restaurant Brands International by 10,155.5% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 2,901,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,406 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 12,819,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $834,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Restaurant Brands International by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,181,459 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,185 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Restaurant Brands International

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.