Providence First Trust Co Acquires New Position in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth $91,237,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the second quarter valued at about $39,687,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 63.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,463,000 after acquiring an additional 160,939 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after acquiring an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the second quarter worth about $17,493,000.

Brinker International Stock Down 2.8%

EAT traded down $5.91 on Friday, hitting $206.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,130,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,515. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $206.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.79. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.37 and a 12-month high of $254.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.37.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 125.65%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on EAT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.80.

Insider Activity

In other Brinker International news, EVP George S. Felix sold 14,349 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.47, for a total value of $3,407,457.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,398.71. The trade was a 69.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph DePinto sold 25,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.39, for a total transaction of $5,759,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,812 shares in the company, valued at $17,927,106.68. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 213,694 shares of company stock worth $50,383,890 over the last 90 days. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brinker International Profile

Brinker International, Inc is a casual-dining restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises restaurants in the United States and select international markets. The company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serves customers through company-operated and franchised locations.

Brinker’s principal brands are Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Chili’s offers a broad menu of burgers, steaks, ribs, fajitas, Tex-Mex dishes, salads and beverages in a full-service, casual setting.