Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Short Interest Up 8.5% in January

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,550,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 10,650,000 shares. Approximately 13.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLMN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lowered Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bloomin’ Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.30.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Bloomin’ Brands stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,124,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,487. The firm has a market capitalization of $941.72 million, a PE ratio of -100.90 and a beta of 1.97. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12 month low of $10.85 and a 12 month high of $30.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.62.

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.