Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Short Interest Update

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,540,000 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the February 28th total of 8,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Restaurant Brands International

In other Restaurant Brands International news, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 3,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $225,406.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,555.40. This represents a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 5,579 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $358,171.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,750,477.20. This represents a 16.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 300,226 shares of company stock valued at $19,121,223. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 473.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,645 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 20,348 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,325,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 110.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 53,873 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 28,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,167,299 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,006,000 after buying an additional 4,464 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

Restaurant Brands International stock traded up $1.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $68.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,096,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,914. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. Restaurant Brands International has a 52 week low of $59.67 and a 52 week high of $78.00.

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

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. 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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on QSR. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.08.

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.