Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.33.

Several research firms have weighed in on BLMN. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BLMN opened at $17.04 on Friday. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52 week low of $15.14 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 2.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.03. 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 (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 61.90%. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 150.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 2.6% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 27,857 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 75,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter.

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.