Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $215.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

EAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.75.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:EAT opened at $176.58 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.80 and its 200-day moving average is $151.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.28. Brinker International has a 52 week low of $56.27 and a 52 week high of $192.22. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.71.

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 net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Brinker International will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total transaction of $319,388.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,158,650.64. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter valued at about $1,036,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,164 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,077,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $802,000.

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.