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

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,580,000 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the October 15th total of 6,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 12.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus cut Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.29. 111,438 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,448,128. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. Brinker International has a 52-week low of $34.77 and a 52-week high of $123.66. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 2.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.47.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The company 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 business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 1st quarter worth about $714,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,908,000 after acquiring an additional 75,225 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after acquiring an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth $5,330,000.

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.