Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Short Interest Down 25.9% in April

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,740,000 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the March 31st total of 9,100,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jill Granat sold 80,332 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.20, for a total value of $6,121,298.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 410,759 shares in the company, valued at $31,299,835.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider David Chan Shear sold 17,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $1,338,820.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 210,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,055,399.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jill Granat sold 80,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.20, for a total transaction of $6,121,298.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 410,759 shares in the company, valued at $31,299,835.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 380,200 shares of company stock valued at $28,828,182 in the last quarter. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QSR. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE QSR opened at $73.85 on Friday. Restaurant Brands International has a 52 week low of $61.77 and a 52 week high of $83.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.72 and its 200 day moving average is $74.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.91.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QSR. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.25.

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.