Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Cut to Sector Weight at KeyCorp

KeyCorp cut shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. KeyCorp currently has $115.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Brinker International Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $149.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $134.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.85. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $39.11 and a 52-week high of $155.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,879,000 after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the third quarter valued at about $5,330,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 19,281 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $941,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,273,000.

Brinker International Company Profile

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.