Optimist Retirement Group LLC Sells 928 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC decreased its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 928 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at about $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Brinker International by 1,145.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,038,000 after acquiring an additional 382,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after acquiring an additional 219,836 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,611,000.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.1 %

Brinker International stock opened at $187.73 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $42.99 and a one year high of $192.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.74 and its 200 day moving average is $104.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EAT. Wedbush lifted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

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.