Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $141.14.

Several research firms recently issued reports on EAT. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp cut Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 136.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 28,322 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $128.54 on Tuesday. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $55.43 and a 12 month high of $192.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brinker International will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

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.