Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.85.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $82.50 in a report on Monday, July 8th.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT opened at $69.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $76.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.51 and a 200-day moving average of $58.69.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,953 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $215,480.41. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,784,827.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $78,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,046 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $12,853,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Brinker International by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after buying an additional 296,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 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.