Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $260.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous target price of $270.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EAT. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brinker International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.33.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $203.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $100.30 and a 12 month high of $254.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.52 and a 200 day moving average of $181.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The restaurant operator reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.09 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 122.35%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Brinker International has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.600-13.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James M. Butler sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total value of $2,403,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,178,713.68. The trade was a 52.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Daniel S. Fuller sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.54, for a total value of $484,007.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 30,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,651,076.58. This represents a 5.95% 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 valued at $41,568,690 over the last three months. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 7.6% during the third quarter. Elevated Financial Group LLC now owns 4,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $674,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $185,000. Trust Co. of Oklahoma purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $446,000.

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.