New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 54,691 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $7,235,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Brinker International by 74.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,324 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,028 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 15,693 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 11,240 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Brinker International by 771.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 64,323 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,862,000 after buying an additional 56,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 9.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 118,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,053,000 after buying an additional 10,300 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EAT shares. Wedbush raised their target price on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE EAT opened at $154.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.37 and a 52 week high of $192.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. Research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Brinker International 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.