12,293 Shares in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Purchased by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Brinker International by 231.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,602,000 after buying an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position 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 worth $76,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,836 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,686.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $13,969,000 after purchasing an additional 182,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Brinker International by 1,160.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,918,000 after purchasing an additional 177,011 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EAT. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus downgraded Brinker International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $130.68. The stock had a trading volume of 960,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,631. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.38. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.77 and a 12-month high of $132.08. 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 (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Brinker International's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

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.