Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Raised to $47.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wedbush from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.96% from the stock’s previous close.

EAT has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.81.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $48.94. 405,952 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,273,515. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International has a one year low of $28.23 and a one year high of $51.72.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 1st quarter valued at about $537,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter worth approximately $99,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 11.4% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 11,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,169,000 after buying an additional 30,861 shares during the period.

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.