Brinker International, Inc. $EAT Shares Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 577,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Brinker International comprises 3.5% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $104,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Brinker International by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $148,411,000 after purchasing an additional 502,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Brinker International by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 967,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $144,201,000 after purchasing an additional 46,896 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 600,134 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,450,000 after purchasing an additional 132,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 510,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,164,000 after purchasing an additional 21,270 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 1st quarter worth about $76,114,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Evercore ISI raised Brinker International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Brinker International from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Brinker International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Brinker International from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.48, for a total value of $2,503,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,026,572.48. This represents a 55.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $6,944,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 212,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,594,669.94. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,325 shares of company stock worth $10,754,785. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT stock opened at $126.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.38. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.44 and a 1 year high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 211.86% and a net margin of 7.12%.The business’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brinker International 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.