Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $146.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $108.00 to $146.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

EAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.53.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of EAT opened at $139.69 on Tuesday. Brinker International has a one year low of $37.25 and a one year high of $142.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.52.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 1,265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Parametrica Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

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.