Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Increased to $50.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “in-line” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.33% from the stock’s current price.

EAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.80.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE EAT traded up $1.25 on Thursday, hitting $45.32. 348,307 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,379. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $51.72.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,472,000 after buying an additional 54,628 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,169,000 after purchasing an additional 30,861 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Brinker International by 32.1% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,451,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,729,000 after acquiring an additional 595,818 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $57,246,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,654,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,148,000 after acquiring an additional 46,935 shares in the last quarter.

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.