Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $97.00 to $110.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus cut shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.19.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT opened at $104.92 on Thursday. Brinker International has a one year low of $33.03 and a one year high of $107.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after acquiring an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 227,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 15.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,406,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares during the last quarter.

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.