Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Upgraded to “Buy” at Argus

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.33.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:QSR opened at $67.83 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.27. Restaurant Brands International has a 12 month low of $59.67 and a 12 month high of $81.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Restaurant Brands International news, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total value of $5,837,144.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 848,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,908,838.30. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Duncan Fulton sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.66, for a total transaction of $1,778,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,590.52. This represents a 44.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 287,726 shares of company stock valued at $18,269,723. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 54,726 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 2,292 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 909,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,698,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 16.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,207,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $159,251,000 after purchasing an additional 307,791 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 3.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 10.4% during the third quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 610,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 57,681 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.