Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $120.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Brinker International traded as high as $107.18 and last traded at $107.01, with a volume of 96339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.92.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth $47,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Brinker International by 32,500.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. Brinker International’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current 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.