Jefferies Financial Group Raises Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $48.00

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $43.36.

Brinker International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $45.28 on Tuesday. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $28.23 and a 12-month high of $51.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.77.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,246,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Brinker International by 2,694.9% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 761,011 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,040,000 after acquiring an additional 733,782 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 86.0% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,389,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,817,000 after acquiring an additional 642,666 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,451,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,729,000 after purchasing an additional 595,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth about $20,401,000.

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.