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Chili’s parent Brinker International has a lengthy growth runway ahead, according to Evercore ISI. Analyst David Palmer upgraded the casual dining restaurant company to outperform from in line and lifted his price target by $20 to $210. That suggests roughly 32% potential upside for the stock, which has gained 20.2% this year. Palmer’s new rating comes after Brinker — which owns and operates Chili’s Grill & Bar, Maggiano’s Little Italy and Just Wings franchises — on Aug. 14 reported fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The company boasted results that pointed to Chili’s consistent traffic and sales performance, and also guided its fiscal year 2026 earnings per share estimates slightly above analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet. Palmer is the latest analyst to upgrade his price target on the stock after these results, which had led firms including Piper Sandler and Morgan Stanley to lift theirs last month. The analyst raised his same-store sales growth estimates for Brinker’s first quarter and said the company has the “marketing and menu levers to pull throughout FY26” to keep its momentum. “Although we see upside to consensus sales and earnings in the near term, the bulk of our Outperform thesis relates to sustainable SSS growth potential from improving customer satisfaction measures (core menu upgrades and labor investment), ongoing effective marketing, and budding growth tailwinds from new units and remodels,” Palmer wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Some drivers in place Palmer mentioned are Chili’s recent ribs relaunch, which he said will be a benefit with digital marketing, a new skillet queso recipe, better sides options as well as improved frozen margaritas. “We believe Chili’s operational improvements are in the early to middle innings,” Palmer wrote. “Although the current P/E valuation is 3 turns more expensive, we believe the company is transitioning to sustainable growth—warranting a more Darden-like valuation.” EAT 1Y mountain Brinker International performance over the past year. Shares rose more than 2% following the upgrade.
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