Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.12 and traded as high as $231.74. Brinker International shares last traded at $220.2910, with a volume of 3,549,888 shares trading hands.

Key Stories Impacting Brinker International

Here are the key news stories impacting Brinker International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brinker issued fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $13.30–$13.90, above the $13.26 analyst consensus. The company’s strong first-quarter results, including accelerating Chili’s traffic, also supported investor optimism. Brinker International advances on strong Q1 results and raised outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts broadly raised their views following the results. Wells Fargo lifted its target to $285, Baird to $280, Citigroup to $277, TD Cowen to $270, Morgan Stanley to $262 and KeyCorp to $258; the firms maintained bullish ratings such as “buy,” “overweight” or “outperform.” Wells Fargo analyst recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Brinker as a strong growth stock, reinforcing the investment case based on its growth-oriented metrics. Why Brinker International is a strong growth stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $6.2 billion–$6.3 billion is broadly in line with expectations, although its midpoint is slightly below the $6.3 billion consensus estimate.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 EAT shares for approximately $8.8 million, reducing his ownership by 27.66%. While the transaction does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals, the sizable insider sale can weigh on sentiment. SEC insider ownership filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brinker International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.80.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $209.45 and its 200-day moving average is $174.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 125.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. Brinker International’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other news, Director James C. Katzman sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.09, for a total value of $143,058.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,522,938.46. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.38, for a total value of $8,815,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 104,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,052,409.14. This trade represents a 27.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 213,694 shares of company stock worth $50,383,890 in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 2.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after buying an additional 145,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $293,786,000 after buying an additional 59,120 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $167,128,000 after buying an additional 9,692 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,237,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,463,000 after acquiring an additional 160,939 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Company Profile

Brinker International, Inc is a casual-dining restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises restaurants in the United States and select international markets. The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serves customers through company-operated and franchised locations.

Brinker’s principal brands are Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Chili’s offers a broad menu of burgers, steaks, ribs, fajitas, Tex-Mex dishes, salads and beverages in a full-service, casual setting.