Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 164,656 Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 100.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 329,225 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 164,656 shares during the quarter. Bloomin’ Brands accounts for about 0.6% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $9,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 683.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,303 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLMN traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.05. 314,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,284,934. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.03 and a 12 month high of $30.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.92.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 73.67% and a net margin of 5.30%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

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.