Evercore ISI Raises Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $65.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $53.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Brinker International from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Brinker International from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $48.29.

Brinker International Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $66.32 on Wednesday. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $28.23 and a 12-month high of $66.69. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 154.29% and a net margin of 3.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Prashant Ranade sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $68,717.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,426.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Prashant Ranade sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $68,717.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,039 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,426.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 40,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $2,421,022.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 66,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,006,988.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 1st quarter worth about $714,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 8,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA acquired a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth approximately $654,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in Brinker International by 26.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,284 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 6,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Brinker International during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000.

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.