Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly positive: Brinker International has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 23 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $249.80.
• Recent results beat expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.77 versus $2.45 expected, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $1.48 billion.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Company insiders sold 213,694 shares worth about $50.4 million over the past three months.

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $249.80.

EAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Brinker International from $175.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT opened at $206.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50 day moving average is $206.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.79. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $101.37 and a 52-week high of $254.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 125.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 13.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, SVP James Butler sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total value of $2,403,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,178,713.68. This represents a 52.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP George Felix sold 14,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.47, for a total transaction of $3,407,457.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,398.71. The trade was a 69.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 213,694 shares of company stock valued at $50,383,890 over the last three months. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after acquiring an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Brinker International by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $293,786,000 after acquiring an additional 59,120 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Brinker International by 0.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $167,128,000 after buying an additional 9,692 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the second quarter valued at $91,237,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 63.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $69,463,000 after purchasing an additional 160,939 shares in the last quarter.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc is a casual-dining restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises restaurants in the United States and select international markets. The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serves customers through company-operated and franchised locations.

Brinker's principal brands are Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy. Chili's offers a broad menu of burgers, steaks, ribs, fajitas, Tex-Mex dishes, salads and beverages in a full-service, casual setting.

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