Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives $140.18 Average PT from Analysts

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.18.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $144.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.53. Brinker International has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. Research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.8% during 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 28,373 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth about $82,408,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth about $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.