Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $200.00 to $215.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EAT. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.75.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $5.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $181.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,011,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,128. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.71. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $56.27 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 99,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. This trade represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 102.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $148,411,000 after purchasing an additional 502,897 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Brinker International by 5.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 967,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $144,201,000 after buying an additional 46,896 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Brinker International by 28.2% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 600,134 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $89,450,000 after acquiring an additional 132,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.