Credit Suisse analyst Jason West upgraded Restaurant Brands to Outperform and increased its price target to $74 from $60 saying shares are undervalued and don't fully capture above average unit growth, improving cost of capital, low tax rate, and low capex. West's checks suggest Tim Hortons is stabilizing and franchisee concerns around supply chain and other issues seems to be waning. Further, the analyst sees catalysts from the Decmber paydown of 9% preferred stock, accelerating Popeye's growth, and a material capital return event in 2018 such as a special dividend.

Citi analyst Jon Tower lowered the firm's price target on Restaurant Brands to $78 from $81 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares ahead of the Q1 report. The analyst expects the company continues to point to ongoing strength in the core Tim Horton's Canada business and progress on the Burger King U.S. turnaround. However, like global peers, the tone on demand will remain muted, the analyst tells investors in a research note.