Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Shares Up 6.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Brinker International shares rose 6.2% after Northcoast Research upgraded the stock to “buy” and set a $275 price target. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $243.38.
• Recent quarterly revenue increased 5.1% year over year to $1.54 billion, slightly exceeding estimates, although earnings per share of $3.07 narrowly missed expectations.
• Company insiders have sold 173,694 shares worth approximately $41.6 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by the CEO and a senior vice president.

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 6.2% on Tuesday after Northcoast Research upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Northcoast Research now has a $275.00 price target on the stock. Brinker International traded as high as $213.47 and last traded at $212.6270. Approximately 176,519 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,181,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.30.

EAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Brinker International from $175.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Brinker International from $204.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $190.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.15, for a total transaction of $9,726,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,035,483.50. This trade represents a 21.73% 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, SVP James Butler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total value of $2,403,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,178,713.68. The trade was a 52.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 173,694 shares of company stock worth $41,568,690 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after buying an additional 145,525 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Brinker International by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $167,128,000 after acquiring an additional 9,692 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Brinker International by 667.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,142,263 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,938,000 after acquiring an additional 993,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,137,863 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,306,000 after acquiring an additional 558,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $83,603,000.

Brinker International Trading Up 6.0%

The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $217.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The restaurant operator reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.09 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 122.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Brinker International has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.600-13.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc is a Dallas-based restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises casual dining restaurants. Its portfolio includes Chili's Grill & Bar, a full-service restaurant brand known for burgers, fajitas, ribs, steaks, Tex-Mex dishes and a broad beverage menu, and Maggiano's Little Italy, which specializes in Italian-American cuisine and family-style dining.

Chili's restaurants serve a wide range of lunch and dinner offerings in a casual, bar-and-grill setting, while Maggiano's locations offer traditional Italian dishes, including pasta, chicken, seafood and desserts.

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