Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $120.00 to $155.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.78% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on EAT. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Brinker International from $95.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.28.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT opened at $138.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $37.25 and a 1-year high of $142.47.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,413,000 after buying an additional 8,105 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 31.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 4.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,900,000 after buying an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after buying an additional 219,836 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.