Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Increased to $50.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

EAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $43.80.

Brinker International Stock Up 2.8 %

Brinker International stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $45.30. 2,843,112 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,935. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.82. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $28.23 and a 52 week high of $51.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,472,000 after acquiring an additional 54,628 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Brinker International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $233,169,000 after purchasing an additional 30,861 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Brinker International by 32.1% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,451,624 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $89,729,000 after purchasing an additional 595,818 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $57,246,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Brinker International by 2.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,654,811 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $63,148,000 after purchasing an additional 46,935 shares during the period.

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.