Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BLMN. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 3.6 %

Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $16.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.35. Bloomin’ Brands has a fifty-two week low of $15.20 and a fifty-two week high of $30.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 2.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.83.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 61.90%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,313,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 218,191 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,142,000 after purchasing an additional 41,341 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 284,000.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1,763.3% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 218,496 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,151,000 after buying an additional 206,770 shares during the period.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.