Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) PT Raised to $48.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.94% from the stock’s current price.

EAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.36.

Brinker International Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $44.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 332,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,493,000 after purchasing an additional 56,192 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Brinker International by 63.9% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 31,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 411.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,719 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 137,354 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,472,000 after acquiring an additional 54,628 shares in 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.