Barclays Cuts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $155.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $165.00 to $155.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT stock opened at $133.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.96. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. Brinker International has a 1 year low of $54.78 and a 1 year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 in the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 575.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,714.3% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period.

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.