Argus Downgrades Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) to Hold

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, FinViz reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.53.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.2 %

EAT opened at $76.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.52. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $28.23 and a twelve month high of $79.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.52% and a negative return on equity of 274.62%. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the second quarter worth $7,818,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the second quarter worth about $210,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 49.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,310 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the second quarter valued at approximately $322,000.

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.