Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.47.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their target price 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 raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,408,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,929,000.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of EAT stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $150.79. 123,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.75 and a 200-day moving average of $133.38. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. Brinker International has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Brinker International 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.