Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Short Interest Update

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,850,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the March 15th total of 6,250,000 shares. Approximately 13.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 10.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 68.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.36.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $45.28. 1,069,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,238. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average is $40.77. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $51.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.