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

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 12.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related 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 transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EAT. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 32,500.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 1,265.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EAT shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $5.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $122.91. 1,446,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International has a 1-year low of $34.77 and a 1-year high of $123.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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.