Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

Brinker International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $151.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $39.39 and a 12-month high of $155.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. Brinker International’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000.

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.