Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $176.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $144.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho started coverage on Brinker International in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Brinker International from $165.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.44.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $149.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.35. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $100.30 and a fifty-two week high of $192.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.74 and a 200-day moving average of $149.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 164.66% and a net margin of 7.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.48, for a total transaction of $2,503,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,572.48. This represents a 55.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter worth $509,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,659,000. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth about $341,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Brinker International by 3.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,781 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period.

About Brinker International

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.