Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Stock

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential downside of 4.04% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on EAT. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.48.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE EAT traded up $2.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $182.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,850,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,488. The business has a 50 day moving average of $136.99 and a 200-day moving average of $100.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $40.50 and a 1-year high of $184.19. The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 44.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the second quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $203,000.

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.

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