Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $76.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 9.47% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $72.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James lowered Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.19.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $104.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $33.03 and a 52-week high of $107.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at $714,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,908,000 after acquiring an additional 75,225 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after acquiring an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Brinker International by 231.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 1,686.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,969,000 after acquiring an additional 182,172 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.