Jim Cramer’s Recent Thoughts on These 15 Stocks

8. Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51

Praising the company’s CEO, Kevin Hochman, during the episode, a caller inquired if Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) was a buy. In response, Cramer said:

“Yes, and I’ll tell you what’s most annoying to me, once it started going down, the analysts said, well, you know what, I guess that’s all there, they wrote there, now we’re all bored by how well he is doing. I am never bored by how well a business person is doing…”

Brinker (NYSE:EAT) runs casual dining restaurants mainly under the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy names. The company also uses a franchise system for some of its locations. Earlier in March, Cramer extensively commented on the company as he said:

“Take Brinker, the parent company of Chili’s and Maggiano’s. We had CEO, Kevin Hochman on the show at the end of January right after Brinker reported one of the best quarters I’ve ever seen. Chili’s had 31% same-store sales growth and the whole company earned $2 and 80 cents per share., nearly a full dollar ahead of the estimates. In response, the stock, shot up more than 16% in a single day, and then it kept running all the way from $154 to $192 in early February. Since then, though, Brinker’s pulled back hard to $141, down substantially from where it was trading before the quarter. So how the heck does the stock collapse like this in a little over a month after reporting a spectacular quarter? Now, some of it’s pure profit taking at the peak. Brinker was up mind boggling 315% over the previous 12 months. Now some of it’s valuation…

We gotta ask, is Brinker worth buying a weakness? Now look, I’ve been a fan of this one for ages. I think the basic story hasn’t changed at all. Brinker’s been able to put up great numbers because it offers customers an incredible value proposition.”