Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) COO Douglas N. Comings Sells 7,500 Shares

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Brinker International Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $167.66 on Tuesday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.99 and a 52-week high of $192.21. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.32 and its 200-day moving average is $107.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 27.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Brinker International by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Brinker International by 39.6% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,411 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 9,474 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 12.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 113,946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,720,000 after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

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.