Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Shares in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,848 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James lowered Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Brinker International Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of Brinker International stock traded down $7.09 on Monday, reaching $122.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,237,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,227. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $106.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.17. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.25 and a 52 week high of $133.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current 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.