Morgan Stanley Boosts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $50.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 21.61% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $82.50 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.72.

Brinker International Trading Up 0.1 %

EAT traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.78. 738,420 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,378. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $28.23 and a 12-month high of $76.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.40 and a 200 day moving average of $53.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 2.52.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 owns 34,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,106.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Prashant Ranade sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $68,717.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,426.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Daniel S. Fuller sold 3,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 owns 34,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,106.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,714 shares of company stock worth $3,637,623 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Brinker International by 231.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,785 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Brinker International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,311,000 after acquiring an additional 53,657 shares in the last quarter.

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.