Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,410,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the December 31st total of 5,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 12.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:EAT traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.17. 236,188 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,283,633. The company has a fifty day moving average of $140.46 and a 200 day moving average of $103.44. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $42.99 and a 12 month high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. On average, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 8.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,038,000 after purchasing an additional 382,633 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter worth $14,611,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.