Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $8.56, but opened at $8.83. Bloomin’ Brands shares last traded at $9.13, with a volume of 274,013 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BLMN. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 2.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.91. The firm has a market capitalization 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 firm also recently announced 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 payout ratio is -40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin’ Brands

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 link. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,830,000 after purchasing an additional 356,456 shares during the period. A&I Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter worth $343,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 49,723 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,432,000 after purchasing an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter worth $1,407,000.

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.