Short Interest in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Drops By 7.3%

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,900,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the September 15th total of 7,440,000 shares. Currently, 15.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the first quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. 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, Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Brinker International during the first quarter worth about $50,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on EAT shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Brinker International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Brinker International from $69.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.09.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $89.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. Brinker International has a 12 month low of $31.95 and a 12 month high of $91.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.73 and a 200-day moving average of $66.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 274.62% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Brinker International will post 4.66 EPS 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.