Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Raised 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 report report published on Friday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $11.00 price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $8.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.88. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $29.59. The stock has a market cap of $746.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.90 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -40.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,190,000 after purchasing an additional 10,635 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 385.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,370 shares during the last quarter.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design, and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the U.S. and International geographical segments. The U.S. segment operates in the USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.