Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 5,633 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,633 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $410,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,879,000 after acquiring an additional 51,927 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth $661,000. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at $280,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 399.9% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 19,281 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last ninety days. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EAT shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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, Wedbush raised their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE EAT traded up $3.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $157.93. 1,339,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,401,151. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.37 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.88 and a 200 day moving average of $125.11.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.