Citigroup Raises Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $110.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $83.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.82% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EAT. BMO Capital Markets lowered Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.19.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.2 %

Brinker International stock opened at $104.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.98. Brinker International has a 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $107.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Brinker International’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Brinker International will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 1.1% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Brinker International by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 33.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period.

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.