Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $90.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EAT. Argus raised Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Brinker International from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Brinker International from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $72.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.10. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $28.23 and a 52 week high of $76.02.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 40,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $2,421,022.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 66,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,006,988.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Prashant Ranade sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $68,717.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,426.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 40,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $2,421,022.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 66,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,988.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,714 shares of company stock valued at $3,637,623 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 137,565 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Brinker International in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 20.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 332,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,493,000 after buying an additional 56,192 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 28,800.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 43.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 5,154 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Company Profile

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.