Ethic Inc. Purchases New Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,531 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total value of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,650.64. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.14.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.1%

Brinker International stock opened at $150.12 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.27 and a 1 year high of $192.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $144.82 and its 200-day moving average is $141.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Brinker International Profile

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.