Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 563,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 55,100 shares during the quarter. Brinker International makes up 2.8% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 1.27% of Brinker International worth $84,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth $661,000. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,028,000 after buying an additional 14,634 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth $400,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,164 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 99,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT stock opened at $174.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.27 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.95.

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

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.