Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Given New $100.00 Price Target at KeyCorp

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective lifted by KeyCorp from $72.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James downgraded Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.74.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $92.46 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.49. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $31.95 and a 52 week high of $93.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 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 business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,836 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 1,686.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,969,000 after buying an additional 182,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,160.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,918,000 after buying an additional 177,011 shares during 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.