Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 45,935 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,077,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $150.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.30 and a 200-day moving average of $117.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EAT. Barclays increased their target price on Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research raised Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

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.