Restaurant Brands International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:QSR)

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 20,187 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 785% compared to the average daily volume of 2,282 call options.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE QSR traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.79. 894,727 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,206,540. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.51. Restaurant Brands International has a 52 week low of $64.52 and a 52 week high of $81.96.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 33.43%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Restaurant Brands International will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Restaurant Brands International news, insider Axel Schwan sold 57,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.14, for a total transaction of $4,671,554.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 209,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,031,935.12. This trade represents a 21.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QSR. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,525,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,969,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095,167 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 16.2% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 19,348,137 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,432,015,000 after buying an additional 2,703,134 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 6,835,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $466,595,000 after buying an additional 1,889,359 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,544,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $378,851,000 after buying an additional 38,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 143.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,932,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $364,524,000 after buying an additional 2,910,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $85.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, CL King set a $80.00 target price on Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.71.

Restaurant Brands International Company Profile

Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. Its principal brands are Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs, which serve customers through company-operated and franchised restaurants.

The company’s brands offer a range of products, including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and meals, coffee and baked goods, fried and Louisiana-style chicken, and specialty subs.