Wedbush Boosts Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $47.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Brinker International from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $44.81.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $48.83 on Friday. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $28.23 and a 52-week high of $51.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.17 and a 200 day moving average of $41.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 64,800.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 649 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 3,611.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 668 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Brinker International by 100.0% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter.

About Brinker International

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.