StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Brinker International (NYSE:EAT)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on EAT. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.18.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $35.76 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.23. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 2.35. Brinker International has a one year low of $21.47 and a one year high of $42.12.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.74 million. Brinker International had a net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 35.47%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brinker International will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, SVP Wade Allen sold 12,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.42, for a total value of $490,658.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,157,911.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 12,986 shares of company stock worth $525,047 in the last 90 days. 2.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 482,503 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,397,000 after acquiring an additional 9,122 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Natixis purchased a new position in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,955,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its position in Brinker International by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 22,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 4,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Brinker International by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,496 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period.

Brinker International Company Profile

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Brinker International, Inc engages in owning, developing, and franchising Chili’s Grill and Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant brands. It operates through the following segments: Chili’s, and Maggiano’s. The Chili’s segment includes the results of company-owned Chili’s restaurants in the U.S.