Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Purchases New Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 63,795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,718,000 after purchasing an additional 9,733 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the second quarter worth approximately $2,258,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in Brinker International during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,710,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Brinker International by 37.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 242,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,643,000 after purchasing an additional 66,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International during the second quarter valued at approximately $766,000.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.7%

Brinker International stock opened at $200.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $204.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.37. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.51 and a 12 month high of $254.99.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 125.65% and a net margin of 8.44%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.70 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, SVP James Butler sold 10,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total transaction of $2,403,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,178,713.68. The trade was a 52.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.15, for a total transaction of $9,726,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,090 shares in the company, valued at $35,035,483.50. This trade represents a 21.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 167,955 shares of company stock valued at $39,335,764 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Brinker International to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $224.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.80.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc. is a casual-dining restaurant company based in Dallas, Texas. It owns, operates and franchises restaurants under the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. Chili’s serves a broad menu of American and Tex-Mex-inspired dishes, including burgers, ribs and fajitas. Maggiano’s specializes in Italian-American cuisine, with dishes such as pasta and other classic entrées. The company traces its roots to 1975, when founder Norman Brinker opened the first Chili’s restaurant in Dallas.