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

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

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

BLMN traded down $0.26 on Monday, reaching $18.97. The company had a trading volume of 555,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,102. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.42. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.33. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52-week low of $18.36 and a 52-week high of $30.13.

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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion for 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 revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.00%.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 27.7% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 295,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,468,000 after acquiring an additional 64,006 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,509,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $70,637,000 after buying an additional 104,368 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 163,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after buying an additional 42,315 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $4,222,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $3,215,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLMN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.