Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires New Shares in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. has acquired 7,326 shares of Brinker International, Inc. valued at approximately $1,092,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Brinker reported a quarterly EPS of $2.49, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.47, with revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently purchased shares in Brinker, with significant acquisitions from firms like Sequoia Financial Advisors and Range Financial Group, indicating growing interest in the stock.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,326 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $148,411,000 after acquiring an additional 502,897 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,929,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,808,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Brinker International from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Brinker International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.41.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE EAT traded down $1.5350 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $152.2950. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,317,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,021. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.72 and a twelve month high of $192.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.87 and a 200 day moving average of $157.85.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 211.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 99,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harriet Edelman sold 8,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total value of $1,307,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,905 shares in the company, valued at $4,538,085. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.