StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Brinker International (NYSE:EAT)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

EAT has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $37.18.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EAT opened at $35.76 on Thursday. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $21.47 and a fifty-two week high of $42.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.23. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 2.35.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.25. Brinker International had a net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 35.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Wade Allen sold 12,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.42, for a total value of $490,658.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,157,911.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,986 shares of company stock worth $525,047. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at $305,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at $289,000. Factorial Partners LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 139.8% in the 3rd quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 51,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 30,200 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $143,000. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,147,000.

About Brinker International

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Brinker International, Inc engages in owning, developing, and franchising Chili’s Grill and Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant brands. It operates through the following segments: Chili’s, and Maggiano’s. The Chili’s segment includes the results of company-owned Chili’s restaurants in the U.S.