Brokerages Set Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Target Price at $139.39

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.39.

EAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp cut Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 over the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,408,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,929,000.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.9 %

Brinker International stock opened at $143.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.75. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $192.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brinker International 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.