Barclays Raises Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $150.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $143.00 to $150.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.25% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $149.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $39.11 and a 52 week high of $155.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.65 and its 200-day moving average is $98.62.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at about $5,330,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the third quarter valued at approximately $941,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,273,000.

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.