Sciencast Management LP Acquires Shares of 2,494 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,494 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,145.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,038,000 after purchasing an additional 382,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,611,000.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $144.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.37 and a 52-week high of $192.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.16.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

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.