Triumph Capital Management Takes Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,649 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $77,865,000 after acquiring an additional 566,894 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $61,929,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,038,000 after purchasing an additional 382,633 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock traded down $4.54 on Monday, reaching $128.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,172,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,490,205. The business's 50 day moving average is $146.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.43 and a 1 year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Brinker International's revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on EAT shares. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.14.

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.