Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Short Interest Down 7.3% in September

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was the target of a large 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. Approximately 15.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded down $1.49 on Thursday, reaching $89.27. The company had a trading volume of 753,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,445,180. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International has a twelve month low of $31.95 and a twelve month high of $91.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.04.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The restaurant operator reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on EAT. Argus cut Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Brinker International from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James cut shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Brinker International from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at about $714,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 36.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,225 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 135,580 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 1,686.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,969,000 after buying an additional 182,172 shares in the last quarter.

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.