Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $115.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $70.00.

EAT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.63.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT opened at $134.26 on Friday. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $37.25 and a twelve month high of $136.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,265.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,111.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the second quarter worth approximately $166,000.

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.