Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $215.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.75.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $176.58 on Monday. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $56.27 and a twelve month high of $192.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.71.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 99,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062 in the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Brinker International by 102.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $148,411,000 after acquiring an additional 502,897 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,615,000 after acquiring an additional 958,101 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Brinker International by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 967,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $144,201,000 after acquiring an additional 46,896 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,408,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 600,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,450,000 after acquiring an additional 132,000 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Company 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.