Stifel Nicolaus Increases Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $155.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $120.00 to $155.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $95.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.28.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $138.66 on Friday. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $37.25 and a fifty-two week high of $142.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.58 and a 200 day moving average of $92.74.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 28,322 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Brinker International by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000.

About Brinker International

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.