Wedbush Boosts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $47.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wedbush from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EAT. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $44.81.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:EAT traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,035,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,658. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.46. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $47.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.54. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $211,472,000 after buying an additional 54,628 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,246,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $64,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,430,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter.

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.