Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Makes New $14.61 Million Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 190,923 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $14,611,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.43% of Brinker International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EAT. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,686.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,969,000 after buying an additional 182,172 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,160.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,918,000 after buying an additional 177,011 shares during the period. Finally, Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,963,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Argus cut shares of Brinker International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $130.77. The stock had a trading volume of 780,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,432,685. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.25 and a 1 year high of $133.82.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share 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.