Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Hits New 1-Year High at $57.15

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $57.15 and last traded at $57.09, with a volume of 248686 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EAT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.06.

Brinker International Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.42 and a 200-day moving average of $42.79.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results 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. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 154.29% and a net margin of 3.55%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Brinker International by 5.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,640 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 1st quarter worth $7,848,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Brinker International by 6.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 87,423 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter valued at approximately $323,000.

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.