Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $62.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $55.00 to $62.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EAT. StockNews.com downgraded Brinker International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.06.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT stock opened at $54.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.81 and its 200 day moving average is $42.16. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $28.23 and a 52 week high of $56.30.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,246,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth about $20,401,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,853,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 411.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,719 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter.

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.