Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares fell below the 50-day moving average, touching $199.09 against a $205.63 average, and were last quoted at $204.05.
• Analysts rate Brinker International a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $249.80; recent ratings ranged from Hold to Strong Buy.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: EPS was $2.77 versus $2.45 forecast, and revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $1.48 billion. Insiders sold 213,694 shares worth about $50.4 million in the last quarter.

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report)'s share price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.63 and traded as low as $199.09. Brinker International shares last traded at $204.0510, with a volume of 1,695,215 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EAT. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brinker International from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial raised Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Brinker International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.80.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $205.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.01. The stock has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.37.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 125.65%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.38, for a total value of $8,815,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 104,603 shares in the company, valued at $23,052,409.14. This represents a 27.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph DePinto sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.39, for a total transaction of $5,759,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 77,812 shares in the company, valued at $17,927,106.68. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 213,694 shares of company stock valued at $50,383,890 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EAT. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter valued at $91,237,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,687,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Brinker International by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $69,463,000 after purchasing an additional 160,939 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after purchasing an additional 145,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Brinker International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,493,000.

Brinker International Company Profile

Brinker International, Inc is a casual-dining restaurant company based in Dallas, Texas. It owns, operates and franchises restaurants under the Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy brands.

Chili's serves a broad menu of American and Tex-Mex-inspired dishes, including burgers, ribs and fajitas. Maggiano's specializes in Italian-American cuisine, with dishes such as pasta and other classic entrées.

The company traces its roots to 1975, when founder Norman Brinker opened the first Chili's restaurant in Dallas.

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