Stifel Financial Corp Sells 6,481 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,412 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 6,481 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 4.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $52,900,000 after acquiring an additional 28,373 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $21,406,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.53.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT traded up $4.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.19. The company had a trading volume of 354,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,549. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $37.25 and a one year high of $137.21. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $116.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.