Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock from an in-line rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $159.06, but opened at $167.48. Evercore ISI now has a $210.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $190.00. Brinker International shares last traded at $160.64, with a volume of 362,095 shares changing hands.

EAT has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 44,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $6,944,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 212,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,594,669.94. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Harriet Edelman sold 8,325 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $1,307,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,538,085. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 105.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 13,043 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 12,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 211.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.