Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Rating Increased to Neutral at Bank of America

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $90.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous target price of $63.00. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on EAT. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James lowered shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $82.50 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.26.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $83.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $29.65 and a fifty-two week high of $84.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.08.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 274.62% and a net margin of 3.52%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Brinker International by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,411 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 9,474 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Brinker International by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,818,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Brinker International by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Company 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.