Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Short Interest Down 8.1% in October

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

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock traded up $5.46 on Monday, hitting $122.91. 1,446,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,454,121. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.47. Brinker International has a 12-month low of $34.77 and a 12-month high of $123.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

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. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brinker International will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew 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 buying an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 13,850.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,413,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after purchasing an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.45.

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.