Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Short Interest Up 23.3% in March

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR - Get Free Report) TSE: QSR saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,540,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the February 28th total of 8,550,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on QSR. TD Cowen lowered shares of Restaurant Brands International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC cut their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.33.

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Restaurant Brands International Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE QSR traded down $4.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,393,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,127. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. Restaurant Brands International has a 1-year low of $59.67 and a 1-year high of $77.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.38 and its 200-day moving average is $67.19.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR - Get Free Report) TSE: QSR last issued its 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 net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 28.53%. On average, analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Restaurant Brands International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Restaurant Brands International's payout ratio is 77.99%.

Insider Transactions at Restaurant Brands International

In other Restaurant Brands International news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 5,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $358,171.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,477.20. This represents a 16.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 3,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $225,406.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,114,555.40. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 300,226 shares of company stock valued at $19,121,223 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inkwell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,370,000. Summerhill Capital Management lnc. bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the fourth quarter worth $841,000. Baskin Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 332,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,664,000 after buying an additional 9,208 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $61,384,000 after purchasing an additional 37,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 914,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $59,574,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.