Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target Increased to $48.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $43.36.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT stock opened at $45.28 on Tuesday. Brinker International has a one year low of $28.23 and a one year high of $51.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average is $40.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. Research analysts predict that Brinker International will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Brinker International by 20.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 332,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,493,000 after buying an additional 56,192 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Brinker International by 63.9% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 31,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 411.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,719 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,472,000 after purchasing an additional 54,628 shares in the last quarter.

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.