Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Shares Gap Up to $76.65

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $76.65, but opened at $79.40. Brinker International shares last traded at $78.74, with a volume of 185,274 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Brinker International from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Brinker International from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Brinker International from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $82.50 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.53.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.52. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.90.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 274.62% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,594,000. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter worth about $714,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth about $584,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 36.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 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.