Stock Earnings Alert: Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) reported earnings for the three months ended Mar2016 on April 19, 2016. The company earned $1 per share on revenue of $824.64M. Analysts had been modeling earning per share of $0.98 with $843.09M in revenue.

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) on April 19, 2016 announced results for the fiscal third quarter ended March 23, 2016.

Highlights include the following:

• Earnings per diluted share, excluding special items, increased 6.4 percent to $1.00 compared to $0.94 for the third quarter of fiscal 2015


• On a GAAP basis, earnings per diluted share decreased 2.0 percent to $1.00 compared to $1.02 for the third quarter of fiscal 2015


• Brinker International total revenues increased 5.2 percent to $824.6 million and company sales increased 5.7 percent to $805.1 million, primarily attributable to the 103 restaurants acquired with the Pepper Dining transaction in the first quarter of fiscal 2016


• Chili’s company-owned comparable restaurant sales decreased 4.1 percent


• Maggiano’s comparable restaurant sales increased 0.2 percent


• Chili’s franchise comparable restaurant sales decreased 1.7 percent which includes a 2.2 percent and 0.7 percent decrease for U.S. and international franchise restaurants, respectively


• Restaurant operating margin,1 as a percent of company sales, declined approximately 150 basis points to 17.4 percent compared to 18.9 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2015


• For the first nine months of fiscal 2016, cash flows provided by operating activities were $299.6 million and capital expenditures totaled $76.1 million. Free cash flow2 was approximately $223.5 million


• The company repurchased approximately 2.6 million shares of its common stock for $126.1 million in the third quarter and a total of approximately 5.4 million shares for $266.2 million year-to-date


• The company declared a dividend of 32 cents per share to be paid in the fourth quarter, representing a 14.3% increase over the prior year

“While we continue to deliver strong cash flow and positive earnings growth through the year, we are disappointed in our recent sales performance,” said Wyman Roberts, chief executive officer and president. “Our focus going forward is to more aggressively invest in our brands to grow comp sales and capture market share.”

Brinker International, Inc. earnings per share showed an increasing trend of 35.1% for the current fiscal year. The company’s expected EPS growth rate for next fiscal year is 350%.Analysts project EPS growth over the next 5 years at 10.02%. It has EPS annual growth over the past 5 fiscal years of 24.9% when sales grew 1. It reported 5.2% sales growth, and -1.9% EPS decline in the last quarter.

The stock is trading at $44.97, up 4.77% from 52-week low of $43.2. The stock trades down -23.99% from its peak of $60.34 and 10.25% above the consensus price target of $49.58. Its volume clocked up at 1.68 million shares which is higher than the average volume of 1.17 million shares. Its market capitalization currently stands at $2.54B.