American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 206,764 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 79.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 466,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 206,764 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.05% of Brinker International worth $84,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 105.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Brinker International by 227.3% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 252 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 52.1% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $149.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $100.30 and a one year high of $192.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.51. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.38.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.17. Brinker International had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 164.66%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 16,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.48, for a total transaction of $2,503,680.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,026,572.48. This trade 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 available through this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EAT. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $144.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.44.

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.