Sage Rhino Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,122 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $126,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 132.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Williamson Legacy Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 11,195 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $225,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EAT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT opened at $164.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.54. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.37 and a 52-week high of $192.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.74.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. Equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Company Profile

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.