Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Argus

Argus lowered shares of Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on QSR. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.81.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE QSR opened at $66.38 on Thursday. Restaurant Brands International has a fifty-two week low of $59.67 and a fifty-two week high of $83.29. The stock has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.08.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its 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 return on equity of 28.25% and a net margin of 16.01%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is currently 58.15%.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In related news, insider Jill Granat sold 10,613 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total value of $747,261.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 388,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,372,521.19. The trade was a 2.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 3,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $225,406.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,114,555.40. This trade represents a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,510 shares of company stock worth $7,774,020. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.