Caprock Group LLC Makes New Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,844 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on EAT. Raymond James cut Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT traded down $4.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $167.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,126,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,810. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.99 and a 1-year high of $192.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.47.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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.