Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires New Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,146 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 68.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Brinker International in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 30.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EAT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.19.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.4 %

EAT opened at $48.27 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $51.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.40. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.