Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $39.00 at Morgan Stanley

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $43.00.

Brinker International Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $45.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 2.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.42. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Brinker International by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Brinker International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Brinker International by 10.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 68.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 386 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.