Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $410,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after buying an additional 51,927 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,330,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Price Performance

Brinker International stock opened at $139.34 on Monday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.37 and a 52 week high of $192.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.33 and a 200-day moving average of $122.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.