Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $73.13 and last traded at $72.0750, with a volume of 950660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on QSR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 price objective on Restaurant Brands International in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Northcoast Research lowered Restaurant Brands International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Argus downgraded Restaurant Brands International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.76.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.69 and its 200-day moving average is $67.23. The firm has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.60.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.03. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 32.43%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 23rd. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman J Patrick Doyle sold 43,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total transaction of $3,043,070.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 193,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,531,079. This trade represents a 18.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QSR. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Restaurant Brands International by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the 3rd quarter worth $1,169,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 11.6% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 8.0% during the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 25,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the third quarter valued at about $155,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

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.