Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 1,485 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 28.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,758 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter valued at $297,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,406,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth $4,570,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth $1,964,000. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth $279,000.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $75.59 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $79.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.52% and a negative return on equity of 274.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on EAT shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upgraded Brinker International from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.53.

Brinker International Profile

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.