JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Price Target to $9.00

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $10.00 to $9.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

BLMN has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 3.8 %

BLMN opened at $7.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $660.76 million, a P/E ratio of -70.72 and a beta of 2.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.27. 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 has a 12 month low of $7.72 and a 12 month high of $29.10.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.71%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $3,519,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $1,552,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 160.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 401,697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 247,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 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.