Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Short Interest Update

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,850,000 shares, a drop of 6.4% from the March 15th total of 6,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 224.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 254,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,729,000 after purchasing an additional 176,405 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24,923 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 8,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Brinker International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 121,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,627,000 after buying an additional 3,610 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT stock traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $45.28. 1,069,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,238. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.77. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $28.23 and a 12 month high of $51.72.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that Brinker International will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.36.

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.