Retirement Systems of Alabama Makes New $13.40 Million Investment in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 69,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $13,399,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.17% of Brinker International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter worth $91,237,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,687,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Brinker International by 63.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,463,000 after acquiring an additional 160,939 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,493,000.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $197.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.56. The company has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $111.61 and a 1 year high of $254.99.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 125.65% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial raised Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brinker International from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Brinker International from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph DePinto sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 77,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,927,106.68. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James M. Butler sold 10,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total value of $2,403,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,178,713.68. This trade represents a 52.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 132,386 shares of company stock worth $30,915,368 in the last three months. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brinker International Profile

Brinker International, Inc. is a casual-dining restaurant company based in Dallas, Texas. It owns, operates and franchises restaurants under the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. Chili’s serves a broad menu of American and Tex-Mex-inspired dishes, including burgers, ribs and fajitas. Maggiano’s specializes in Italian-American cuisine, with dishes such as pasta and other classic entrées. The company traces its roots to 1975, when founder Norman Brinker opened the first Chili’s restaurant in Dallas.