Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Short Interest Update

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,380,000 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the October 15th total of 6,680,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Thomas Benjamin Curtis sold 6,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $448,565.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,551,594.77. This represents a 14.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Axel Mr Schwan sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.44, for a total transaction of $2,535,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,866,420.76. This trade represents a 26.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Restaurant Brands International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QSR. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Restaurant Brands International by 79.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the third quarter valued at $61,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 22.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 123.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

Shares of QSR traded down $0.95 on Friday, reaching $67.52. 1,279,694 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,584,606. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.28. The stock has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.94. Restaurant Brands International has a 52-week low of $65.87 and a 52-week high of $83.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Restaurant Brands International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is 58.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus cut their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.37.

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.