Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives $140.18 Average Price Target from Analysts

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.18.

A number of research firms have recently commented on EAT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000.

Brinker International Trading Up 6.1 %

EAT opened at $141.63 on Monday. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $43.37 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. As a group, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.