A&I Financial Services LLC Buys New Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 28,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,325,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after buying an additional 356,456 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,432,000 after buying an additional 254,570 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 720,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,908,000 after purchasing an additional 217,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,806,000 after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

BLMN stock opened at $10.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $848.01 million, a PE ratio of -90.86 and a beta of 1.97. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $11.94 and a 200-day moving average of $14.31. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.57 and a 12-month high of $30.13.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is -40.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLMN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James lowered Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

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.