Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.18.

EAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % 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 ninety days. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $130,615,000 after acquiring an additional 958,101 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 566,894 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,929,000.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT traded down $8.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $144.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,017,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,611,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $150.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.83. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.54. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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.