Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $100.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $67.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 4.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EAT. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $72.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.36.

Brinker International Stock Up 7.5 %

EAT opened at $104.25 on Thursday. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $32.90 and a 12 month high of $106.21. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.86 and a 200 day moving average of $69.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a net margin of 3.52% and a negative return on equity of 274.62%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at about $341,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,273,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 494.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 5.9% during the third quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 13,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 24.5% during the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 2,283 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.