Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 4,844,074 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 150% from the previous session’s volume of 1,939,371 shares.The stock last traded at $66.15 and had previously closed at $66.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on QSR. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.68.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.71.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 28.94% and a net margin of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. Restaurant Brands International’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is 84.07%.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, insider Jacqueline Friesner sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $4,905,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,817,421.76. This represents a 27.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QSR. Inkwell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,370,000. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 942,022 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,384,000 after acquiring an additional 37,241 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 10,155.5% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 2,901,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $189,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,406 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,293,000 after purchasing an additional 8,873 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Company Profile

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.