Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Raised to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $70.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 12.43% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus downgraded Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.63.

Brinker International Price Performance

Brinker International stock opened at $131.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $37.25 and a 52-week high of $136.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Brinker International by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period.

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.