Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $97.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Brinker International traded as high as $107.18 and last traded at $107.01, with a volume of 96339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.92.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus downgraded Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Brinker International by 32,500.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 33.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.78.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.