Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.88 Million Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $20,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EAT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 612.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,146 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,322,000 after acquiring an additional 86,956 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Brinker International by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,139 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,433,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the second quarter worth $3,605,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.53.

Brinker International Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $137.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.25 and a 1 year high of $137.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

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.