Brokerages Set Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) PT at $76.63

Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.58.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Duncan Fulton sold 15,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.48, for a total value of $998,055.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,248 shares in the company, valued at $2,827,095.04. The trade was a 26.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 18,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total value of $1,152,040.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,698.35. The trade was a 24.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 278,716 shares of company stock worth $17,740,281. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter worth about $264,813,000. Meritage Group LP boosted its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 5,795.9% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,301,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,204,000 after buying an additional 3,245,689 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 10,155.5% in 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 buying an additional 2,873,406 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 12,819,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $834,478,000 after buying an additional 2,695,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 967.0% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,087,542 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $70,793,000 after acquiring an additional 985,615 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

Shares of Restaurant Brands International stock opened at $63.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.51. Restaurant Brands International has a fifty-two week low of $58.71 and a fifty-two week high of $77.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted 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%. Analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

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.