Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $115.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $70.00.

EAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.63.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:EAT opened at $134.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Brinker International has a one year low of $37.25 and a one year high of $136.15. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.81 and a 200-day moving average of $85.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second 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 stake in Brinker International by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,228,000 after purchasing an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Brinker International by 55.1% in the third 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. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,611,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,160.2% in the second 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 last quarter.

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.