Guggenheim Capital LLC Grows Stake in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of QSR. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 10,155.5% during the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 2,901,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $189,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873,406 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 202.1% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,695 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,320 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 15,969 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,544,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $100,462,000 after purchasing an additional 24,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total transaction of $851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 235,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,023,731.36. This represents a 5.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total transaction of $5,837,144.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 848,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,908,838.30. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 278,716 shares of company stock worth $17,740,281 over the last three months. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

QSR opened at $63.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.71 and a 1-year high of $77.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.29). Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 28.53% and a net margin of 12.15%. Equities analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on QSR shares. Argus upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.25.

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.