Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Stock Has Average Price Target of $249.80

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $249.80.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Brinker International to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, EVP Aaron White sold 16,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.22, for a total transaction of $3,831,488.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,099,822.32. This represents a 27.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.15, for a total transaction of $9,726,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,035,483.50. This represents a 21.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,694 shares of company stock worth $50,383,890. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EAT. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Brinker International by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after buying an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 3.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $293,786,000 after purchasing an additional 59,120 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,128,000 after buying an additional 9,692 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,237,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 63.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,463,000 after purchasing an additional 160,939 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:EAT opened at $206.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $101.37 and a 1-year high of $254.99. The firm has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $206.16 and a 200 day moving average of $175.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a return on equity of 125.65% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 13.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brinker International Company Profile

Brinker International, Inc is a casual-dining restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises restaurants in the United States and select international markets. The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serves customers through company-operated and franchised locations.

Brinker’s principal brands are Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Chili’s offers a broad menu of burgers, steaks, ribs, fajitas, Tex-Mex dishes, salads and beverages in a full-service, casual setting.