Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $77.00 to $78.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on QSR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.95.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of QSR opened at $73.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.98. Restaurant Brands International has a 1 year low of $58.71 and a 1 year high of $73.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.56.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, insider Jill Granat sold 11,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $778,052.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,143,266.26. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Duncan Fulton sold 10,308 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $695,893.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,677 shares in the company, valued at $3,353,694.27. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 186,401 shares of company stock worth $12,857,069. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 8,252,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $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 in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,033,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the second quarter worth about $254,948,000. 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 worth $2,969,819,000 after buying an additional 3,095,167 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $198,711,000 after buying an additional 2,966,048 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About Restaurant Brands International

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.