Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 294,926 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,897 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $42,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Brinker International by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,819,397 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $691,680,000 after purchasing an additional 73,346 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,975,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $427,066,000 after buying an additional 1,511,266 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,393,604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $176,542,000 after acquiring an additional 301,912 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Brinker International by 667.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,142,263 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,938,000 after acquiring an additional 993,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in Brinker International by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,137,863 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,306,000 after acquiring an additional 558,799 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EAT. Zacks Research lowered Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Brinker International from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Brinker International from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.20.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $189.28 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.30 and a fifty-two week high of $192.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.85.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.05. Brinker International had a return on equity of 123.22% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Brinker International’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Brinker International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.60-10.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Brinker International

Here are the key news stories impacting Brinker International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens initiated coverage on Brinker International with an overweight rating and a $220 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also raised its price target on Brinker International to $220 from $200 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing the bullish analyst outlook. Benzinga report on Wells Fargo price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp lifted its price target to $204, adding to the cluster of positive analyst revisions for EAT.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Brinker as an incredible growth stock and said the company could beat earnings estimates again, which supports investor confidence ahead of the next report. Zacks growth-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks article noted Brinker’s strong earnings surprise history and favorable setup for another quarterly beat, which can be a catalyst for the shares. Zacks earnings beat article
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from market commentary on Brinker versus other consumer cyclical names helped keep the stock in focus, but it did not appear to materially change the investment thesis. The Globe and Mail analyst coverage article

Brinker International Company Profile

Brinker International, Inc (NYSE: EAT) is a leading global operator of casual dining restaurants. The company’s portfolio is anchored by its flagship Chili’s® Grill & Bar concept and Maggiano’s® Little Italy full‐service restaurants, offering a range of American‐style menu items, handcrafted cocktails and family‐friendly dining experiences. Through dine‐in, takeout, delivery and catering services, Brinker seeks to meet consumer preferences across multiple channels.

The Chili’s brand features signature items such as baby back ribs, burgers and fajitas alongside a rotating selection of limited‐time offerings and seasonal beverages.