Empowered Funds LLC Trims Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,466 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 18,178 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $6,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EAT. Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $940,000. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in Brinker International by 186.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 12,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $167.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.47. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.99 and a fifty-two week high of $192.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on EAT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.