Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

EAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Brinker International from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Brinker International Stock Down 3.2 %

Brinker International stock opened at $149.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.11 and a fifty-two week high of $155.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.62.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter.

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.