BMO Capital Markets Increases Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $65.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on EAT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Brinker International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.06.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $54.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.99. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $28.23 and a 12 month high of $55.69.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. Brinker International’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $211,472,000 after buying an additional 54,628 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,169,000 after acquiring an additional 30,861 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at about $57,246,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,785 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Brinker International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Company Profile

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.