Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $149.51 and last traded at $148.84, with a volume of 93043 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $144.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.29.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.44.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. Brinker International’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in the third 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 31.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after purchasing an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 4.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,900,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $81,888,000.

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.