Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $124.41 and last traded at $123.32, with a volume of 219770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after buying an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,413,000 after buying an additional 8,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares during the period.

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.