Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.19.

A number of research firms recently commented on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $211,472,000 after purchasing an additional 54,628 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Brinker International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,169,000 after purchasing an additional 30,861 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,246,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Brinker International by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Brinker International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,430,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.4 %

EAT stock opened at $48.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.09 and a 200-day moving average of $41.40.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.