Barclays Raises Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $143.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $95.00 to $143.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.37% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Brinker International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Raymond James downgraded Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.53.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:EAT opened at $139.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $37.25 and a 1-year high of $142.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International 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 directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. This 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 available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 31.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth $14,611,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,160.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,918,000 after purchasing an additional 177,011 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.