Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,910,000 shares, a growth of 13.7% from the May 31st total of 6,080,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.29. The stock had a trading volume of 277,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,368. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12 month low of $18.36 and a 12 month high of $30.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 65.73% and a net margin of 1.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 26,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 13,686 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Rye Brook Capital LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC now owns 247,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,104,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 11,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

Bloomin' Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casual, upscale casual, and fine dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, U.S. and International. Its restaurant portfolio has four concepts, including Outback Steakhouse, a casual steakhouse restaurant; Carrabba's Italian Grill, a casual Italian restaurant; Bonefish Grill; and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, a contemporary steakhouse.