Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $175.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

EAT has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Brinker International from $207.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brinker International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Brinker International from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.35.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $127.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.34. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.38. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $82.24 and a 12-month high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 211.86% and a net margin of 7.12%.The business’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.48, for a total value of $2,503,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,572.48. This represents a 55.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Hochman sold 44,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $6,944,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 212,867 shares in the company, valued at $33,594,669.94. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,325 shares of company stock worth $10,754,785 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in Brinker International by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,236,583 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $222,993,000 after purchasing an additional 240,870 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Brinker International by 86.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,091,692 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $196,865,000 after buying an additional 506,087 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,071,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,619,000 after buying an additional 14,033 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Brinker International by 5.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 967,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $144,201,000 after buying an additional 46,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Brinker International by 107.1% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 639,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,296,000 after buying an additional 330,611 shares during the last quarter.

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.