Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $119.43 and last traded at $119.32, with a volume of 75305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Argus lowered Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.46. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Brinker International by 231.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after buying an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in 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 period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% during the 2nd 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 position in shares of Brinker International by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,406,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares during the period.

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.