Short Interest in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Declines By 6.4%

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,850,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the March 15th total of 6,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the business's 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 owns 56,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International in the first quarter worth $99,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 11.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 11,419 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $875,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on EAT. StockNews.com cut Brinker International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.36.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Brinker International stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $45.28. 1,069,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,284,659. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.77. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $28.23 and a 12-month high of $51.72. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The business 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

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.