Gains for QSR

Article Excerpt

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $36.59 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 476.4 million; Market cap: $17.4 billion; Div. Yield: 1.4%) is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,669 Burger King outlets and 4,845 Tim Hortons stores in 100 countries. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Restaurant Brands earned $162.7 million, up 26.8% from $128.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 25.9%, to $0.34 from $0.27, on more shares outstanding. However, sales fell 8.4%, to $1.02 billion from $1.11 billion, as the high U.S. dollar hurt the contribution from Restaurant Brands’ overseas operations. Same-store sales rose 5.3% at Tim Hortons and 6.2% at Burger King. Restaurant Brands has raised its quarterly dividend by 8.3%. The stock now yields 1.5%. The company’s outlook is positive, but it trades at a high 28.1 times its forecast 2016 earnings of $1.30 a share. Restaurant Brands is a hold. hold…