Analysts Set Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Price Target at $81.39

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.8261.

Several research firms have commented on QSR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Restaurant Brands International Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of QSR opened at $80.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.90 and its 200 day moving average is $70.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.51. Restaurant Brands International has a fifty-two week low of $61.33 and a fifty-two week high of $81.67.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 32.51%. Restaurant Brands International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is presently 110.17%.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.51, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,664,924.66. The trade was a 52.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jacqueline Friesner sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.61, for a total transaction of $2,238,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,364,891.47. This represents a 15.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 441,490 shares of company stock valued at $32,375,140 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QSR. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 103.8% during 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 during the period. Platinum Paramount Investment LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at $281,033,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at $260,709,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,969,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095,167 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 9,477.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,997,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,048 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.