Short Interest in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Rises By 5.2%

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the May 15th total of 5,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of BLMN opened at $19.04 on Thursday. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52-week low of $18.75 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 2.01.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.05). Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 65.73% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 284,000.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6,454.9% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.