Marco Investment Management LLC Takes $279,000 Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Marco Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,850 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $78,602,000 after buying an additional 1,106,046 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $64,908,000 after buying an additional 296,785 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Brinker International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,311,000 after acquiring an additional 53,657 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.85.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $69.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.23 and a 52-week high of $76.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.42.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 274.62% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

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.