Goldman Sachs analyst Jared Garber downgraded Brinker to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $28, down from $31. The company is engaging in a turnaround strategy at Chili’s and a "choppy path on sales and margins" is expected in 2023, Garber tells investors in a research note. Traffic trends are already negative and higher prices, combined with limited discounting, risks losing the brand’s lower-income consumers, says the analyst. He believes a path to longer-term profitable growth exists, but does knot expect it to be linear and sees earnings risk in the near-term.
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