Putnam Investments LLC Makes New $6.03 Million Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Putnam Investments LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 158,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,027,000. Putnam Investments LLC owned about 0.36% of Brinker International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 0.4% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,609,433 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $251,158,000 after acquiring an additional 26,101 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brinker International by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,382,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $205,414,000 after purchasing an additional 102,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,069,331 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $129,852,000 after purchasing an additional 940,888 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Brinker International by 2.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,654,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $63,148,000 after purchasing an additional 46,935 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2.6% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,643,652 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,209,000 after buying an additional 42,373 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT opened at $31.42 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.94 and a 1-year high of $42.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.81.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The restaurant operator reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.09. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 55.47% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Brinker International’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EAT shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Brinker International in a research note on Monday, June 26th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $42.50 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.93.

Brinker International 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.