Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Raised to “Overweight” at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $72.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Brinker International’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.30 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EAT. Raymond James lowered shares of Brinker International from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $82.50 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $56.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $61.85.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT stock opened at $65.57 on Thursday. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $28.23 and a 12 month high of $76.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.39.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.31, for a total transaction of $683,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,982.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.31, for a total value of $683,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,982.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel S. Fuller sold 3,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $249,303.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,106.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,564 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,884. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 39,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 13,582 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 248.7% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Brinker International by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $954,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000.

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.