Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Increased to $65.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.06.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE EAT traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,391,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,156. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.99. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $28.23 and a 52 week high of $55.69.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. The company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at $691,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter worth approximately $296,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,408 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, James Investment Research Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 14.3% in the third quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 22,333 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares during the period.

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.