Stifel Nicolaus Increases Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) Price Target to $62.00

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $55.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.77% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.06.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.98. 1,059,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,375. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.16. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.42. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $28.23 and a 12 month high of $56.30.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.55% and a negative return on equity of 154.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Brinker International will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,694,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,472,000 after acquiring an additional 54,628 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brinker International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,399,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,169,000 after acquiring an additional 30,861 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $57,246,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Brinker International by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $64,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Brinker International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter.

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.