Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Equal Weight” Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $130.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $95.00.

EAT has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James downgraded Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.38.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Brinker International stock opened at $127.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $37.25 and a 12 month high of $133.82. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.08 and its 200-day moving average is $83.64.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,413,000 after purchasing an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 4.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,900,000 after buying an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after buying an additional 219,836 shares during the period.

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.