Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

BLMN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8,666.6% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,364 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,873,000 after buying an additional 1,522,370 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 385.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,187,000 after buying an additional 1,442,964 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 483.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,225,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,965,000 after buying an additional 1,015,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,839,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLMN opened at $7.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $675.20 million, a PE ratio of -72.27 and a beta of 1.76. Bloomin’ Brands has a 1 year low of $6.09 and a 1 year high of $27.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is -40.27%.

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.