Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $115.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $70.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EAT. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.63.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE EAT opened at $134.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $37.25 and a fifty-two week high of $136.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after acquiring an additional 219,836 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth $14,611,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 1,160.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,918,000 after purchasing an additional 177,011 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.