Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BLMN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of BLMN stock traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $15.95. 644,208 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,468,931. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 2.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.00. Bloomin’ Brands has a one year low of $15.20 and a one year high of $30.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLMN. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,672,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 569,855 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 2,520.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 468,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,009,000 after purchasing an additional 450,630 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,313,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 76.5% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 544,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,475,000 after buying an additional 236,037 shares during the last quarter.

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.