Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded to “Neutral” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $90.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $63.00.

EAT has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus cut shares of Brinker International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $66.26.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.6 %

Brinker International stock opened at $82.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.09 and a 200-day moving average of $64.82. Brinker International has a one year low of $29.65 and a one year high of $84.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a net margin of 3.52% and a negative return on equity of 274.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 33.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Brinker International during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000.

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.