Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Given New $180.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.12% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.75.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE EAT traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $179.78. 1,899,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,294. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.71. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $56.27 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.90 and a 200 day moving average of $152.40. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total value of $1,703,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 99,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,916,236.92. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total value of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 4.2% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,933 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 575.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 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.