Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC Makes New Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,886 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $410,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth about $661,000. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.3 %

EAT stock opened at $144.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.79. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.37 and a 52-week high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 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.