Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Here’s Why

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) shares fell 6.8% on Monday. The company traded as low as $191.15 and last traded at $188.3260. Approximately 99,933 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,180,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EAT shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $190.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $204.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.38.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.1%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The restaurant operator reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by ($0.02). Brinker International had a return on equity of 122.35% and a net margin of 8.39%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Brinker International has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.600-13.400 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, EVP George S. Felix sold 14,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.47, for a total transaction of $3,407,457.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,398.71. This represents a 69.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.15, for a total value of $9,726,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,035,483.50. This represents a 21.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 173,694 shares of company stock worth $41,568,690 in the last ninety days. 1.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,804,000 after buying an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $293,786,000 after buying an additional 59,120 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 13.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 24.1% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,897 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 318.2% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 28,047 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 21,340 shares during the last quarter.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc is a Dallas-based restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises casual dining establishments. Its portfolio is led by Chili’s Grill & Bar, a full-service restaurant brand known for burgers, steaks, fajitas, ribs and other American-style menu items, and Maggiano’s Little Italy, which specializes in Italian-American cuisine and operates both restaurants and catering services.

Brinker also developed It’s Just Wings, a virtual restaurant brand offering chicken wings, fries and related items through delivery and takeout.