Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $105.00 to $125.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential downside of 19.54% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Brinker International Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $155.36 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $39.39 and a twelve month high of $155.55.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter worth approximately $5,330,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 19,281 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at $941,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at about $2,273,000.

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.