Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives $139.39 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.39.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Brinker International by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of EAT opened at $143.99 on Friday. Brinker International has a 1 year low of $43.37 and a 1 year high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. On average, analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.