Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Invests $24.89 Million in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired 167,000 shares of Brinker International, valued at approximately $24.89 million, increasing its stake to 0.38% of the company.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Brinker International, with Farther Finance Advisors growing its stake by 575% during the first quarter.
• Brinker International reported earnings of $2.49 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues up 21% year-over-year.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 167,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $24,891,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.38% of Brinker International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 575.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 227.3% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 252 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,714.3% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. This represents 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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Harriet Edelman sold 8,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 28,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,538,085. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of EAT stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $153.07. The company had a trading volume of 761,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,125. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.72 and a 12 month high of $192.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.88. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Brinker International from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Brinker International from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Brinker International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.41.

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.