Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $97.00. The stock had previously closed at $97.01, but opened at $104.00. Brinker International shares last traded at $103.51, with a volume of 400,840 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus cut Brinker International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $72.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.86.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $76,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,836 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 31.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $68,228,000 after buying an additional 227,047 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,686.8% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $13,918,000 after acquiring an additional 177,011 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 274.62% and a net margin of 3.52%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.66 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.