Analyst Downgrades Brinker International Inc. On Missed Growth Target

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) inability to meet Wall Street's growth expectations suggests that investors can find better opportunities elsewhere in the restaurant sector, an analyst said Monday.Tigress Financial Parters' Ivan Feinseth downgraded the restaurant company to Neutral, from Buy, citing its recent fiscal third-quarter results. The Dallas-based company is off nearly 3 percent since posting earnings last week, trading recently at $56.99, off $0.60 cents.Brinker's same-store sales growth in its recent quarter of 1.7 percent missed analysts' average forecast of 2.3 percent, Feinseth said.Although the company's total sales growth over the past 12 months increased to 4.2 percent as of March 25, from 3.2 percent three months earlier, Feinseth said Brinker's growth pace is lagging that of its competitors.Feinseth said he favors investing in restaurant companies that are "consistently beating expectations." The analyst cited Cheesecake Factory Inc. (NASDAQ: CAKE) as an example of a company he favors in the sector.Brinkers, which operates the Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands, last week posted adjusted quarterly earnings of $0.94 cents a share, a penny better than expected.Total sales grew 2.6 percent from a year earlier to $784.2 million; Wall Street expected $791 million.