Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $150.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Brinker International traded as low as $130.76 and last traded at $134.32, with a volume of 2548912 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $136.89.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EAT. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % 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 three months. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $77,865,000 after buying 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 Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.36. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current 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.