Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 1,716 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 136.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 28,322 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 in the last quarter. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Brinker International from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Northcoast Research raised Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.53.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $160.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $148.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Brinker International Profile

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.