Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter worth $57,246,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 411.7% in 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 period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the third quarter worth $2,852,000. Invesco Ltd. increased 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 worth $10,493,000 after purchasing an additional 56,192 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in 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 during the period.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $47.61 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.23 and a 1-year high of $51.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.02 and its 200 day moving average is $41.36. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly 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. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.19.

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.