Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $149.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $149.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would suggest a potential downside of 10.61% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EAT. Barclays cut their price objective on Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.41.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $1.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $166.69. 48,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,463,809. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $56.27 and a 1-year high of $192.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a return on equity of 333.03% and a net margin of 6.50%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Brinker International's quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total transaction of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 20,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Brinker International by 102.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $148,411,000 after buying an additional 502,897 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 967,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $144,201,000 after purchasing an additional 46,896 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth $82,408,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 600,134 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $89,450,000 after acquiring an additional 132,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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