Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Trading 4.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) were up 4.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $128.44 and last traded at $128.08. Approximately 313,660 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,424,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus lowered Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.38.

Brinker International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.34.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 1.1% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Brinker International by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period.

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.