Bank of America Increases Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $94.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $90.00 to $94.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.16% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on EAT. Barclays lifted their price target on Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.62.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT opened at $92.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $75.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.05. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $31.95 and a 12-month high of $94.39.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 EPS 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after acquiring an additional 135,580 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after buying an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 31.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 15.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,406,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 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.